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heroinejinx · 1 year

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‘You don’t know her.’ - Advices and Vices, part 5 of ? (CaitJinx Modern AU)

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Caitlyn’s POV after her night with Jinx, and the months leading up to the party...

She blames the gin, I blame the ADHD & Autism ravaging my life lol enjoy

TW: drinking, vague drug & trauma reference, Jayce being a prick

(6,019 words)

Jinx’s last words lingered in Caitlyn’s mind. She replayed the scene in that bed over and over and over.

I’m bad enough for you already.

Bad? In what sense?

Did Jinx feel like a bad person because of her past?

Caitlyn didn’t know the full story, but from what Vi told her, Jinx led a far darker life beyond the foster home than either of them could’ve fathomed. Vi had Vander, a gruff man-giant with the squishy insides of a teddy bear. But Jinx? Jinx had Silco, Zaun’s most infamous Chembaron, a man with the face and killer instinct of a rabid shark. He plucked her out from obscurity and made her his daughter. His Jinx.

What kinds of things did he enlist her to do? Had she acted willingly, or did he coerce her? Caitlyn didn’t dare speculate.

Either way, Jinx must’ve harboured guilt for her part in his business. All those lives, young and old, lost. Ravaged by shimmer and the gang warfare involved in producing and selling it. Years later, some parts of Zaun still hadn’t recovered, and nor had Jinx.

That same protective impulse Caitlyn felt in the corridor of Jinx’s apartment building swelled in her gut. Made her queasy with concern. She hated Silco.

But Jinx knew Caitlyn didn’t hold her past against her, right? For all their spats and bad blood, Jinx had to know.

If not the past, what else could Jinx have meant to shield her from? Had she forgotten something, some vital piece of evidence?

Just go… Go home, Cait.

What made Jinx so determined to push her away? The potential fallout of Vi finding out? They’d covered that; they could both keep a secret. What other reason was there?

Entitled. Jinx said it with conviction, intended to harm. Demanding an apology was entitled of you.

It felt like a blade aimed straight at Caitlyn’s throat, forcing her to scrutinise herself.

Was she entitled? Probably, in some respects, given her background. But expecting an apology for being tossed aside was no act of entitlement. Caitlyn knew her worth. That didn’t make her entitled.

Then there were her own indecipherable words. Things said she didn’t mean.

I don’t care.

A blatant lie woven from her pain. She’d intended harm, too. Neither of them was innocent in this.

I’m done.

Done? With what? Had they started something?

Maybe…

Maybe Jinx just didn’t like her. Maybe the night they’d shared was just sex, fuelled by alcohol and familiar, flirtatious contempt. Once it ended, Jinx wanted nothing more to do with her. And why would she? They had nothing more to offer each other than their bodies.

***

Weeks without answers turned into months. Four months, one week and two days.

Between nonstop work and restless nights, she met with Jayce for a drink at one of their favourite bars in the heart of Piltover. Anything to distract her from the dull, disconcerting itch of missing Jinx.

Craving someone she had once barely tolerated was a new brand of torture. Add her bitter confusion about how things ended to the mix, and well, Caitlyn wasn’t having a fun time.

Jayce was chipper, as usual. Painfully so. But he did most of the talking and had agreed to foot the bill. Could’ve been worse.

She quelled the constant ache in her chest with a stream of gin and tonics, as he droned on about the last couple of months of his life. He’d secured funding from the council for his tech company’s latest project. A venture into prosthetic limbs which Caitlyn understood very little of, despite Jayce’s thorough and frequent explanations.

Science had never been her thing; more of an English and History kind of person. Tangible lived experiences and the heart of the human condition spoke to her far more than statistics and hypotheses ever could. She had some basic forensic knowledge needed for her work, but that was it.

What would Jinx make of Jayce and Viktor’s work? Would she find it interesting? Ground-breaking? Would she and Viktor squabble over the best methods for maximum results? She’d certainly understand it all a heck of a lot better than Caitlyn.

Anyway, she’d strayed off topic. Blame the gin.

When Jayce found out about the funding, Viktor kissed him on the cheek right there in the lab in front of Skye and their other assistants. A rare, sweet moment of PDA amidst all the excitement. Jayce relished in that part of the story, skimmed over the funding just so he could tell her that his extremely private boyfriend had kissed him at work.

It was cute and it pissed her off. She loved Jayce and Viktor, but she didn’t want to hear a single word about how happy they were together. Not after… everything.

‘Come on, Jayce,’ she half-teased, half-reprimanded. ‘This is a new level of gloating, even for you.’

‘I’m not gloating,’ Jayce denied with a small grin. ‘Just sharing my news with my best friend.’

‘Oh, please.’

They went on like that for a while. Jayce sharing, then over-sharing as the alcohol hit, while Caitlyn nodded along with a drink in her hand, mocking him at regular intervals. It was nice. Quality friendship time.

The evening dwindled, they said their goodbyes and parted ways, and she was alone. Again.

Would she spend every night alone? Would she ever meet someone who made her as insufferable as Jayce and Viktor were together?

***

Jinx’s bed. Blue hair cascading like a waterfall. Smoke trails etched into biteable skin. Hands and tongue dragging out shrill, melodic moans.

The loud vibrations of her phone receiving a text.

Oh, wait, that was real.

She groaned, desperate to return to the world behind her eyes.

Her phone screen’s harsh light made her squint. She dimmed the brightness all the way down and read the message. From Vi, of all people.

If the universe had any respect for Caitlyn at all, Vi had finally signed those divorce papers.

She read on:

Hey, Cait. Sorry I’ve been a dick. If you’ve got a spare hour today, could we meet? Or if you’re at work, name a time and place and I’m there, okay? I’ve signed the papers and I’d like to meet in person to give them to you.

And again, I’m sorry.

Caitlyn read the message a few more times. She couldn’t believe it. Those words had really been sent. From Vi. To Caitlyn.

It all read true to form, apart from the apology. And the name. Ten months since they separated, and a part of Caitlyn still expected Vi to call her Cupcake. How stupid was that?

She didn’t want to meet on such short notice, but she had no choice. Vi was like a wild horse; couldn’t risk spooking her.

She replied:

Thank you, Vi. I know it takes a lot for you to say sorry, so I appreciate it. I’m due at the station today, but we can do lunch if you’d like.

Her response might have erred on the side of passive aggressive, but it was the kindest she could muster.

***

Lunch was… an experience.

Vi showed up late, hungover, and with another woman. Her girlfriend. Seraphine, or Serrie, had hair the colour of Pepto-Bismol and the face of a doe with no survival instinct, traipsing carefree through a forest in the middle of hunting season. Most egregious of all, they were smitten with each other. They called each other babe and hun and cutie and couldn’t stop touching. Hands, shoulders, knees beneath the table; it was all up for grabs.

Caitlyn seethed, picking at the Caesar salad she’d ordered before they arrived, while they perused the menu. She had twenty minutes before she had to go back to work, and they were acting like they were on fucking holiday.

Any sane, rational person would’ve ditched, left them with the bill, and demanded to meet Vi alone some other time. Instead, she dug her heels in. Literally dug the heels of her boots into the restaurant’s carpet.

‘You used to get the burger,’ she snapped. ‘Just get the bloody burger, Vi.’

‘Burger?’ Seraphine winced. It was the first thing she’d said since Vi had introduced her. ‘As in beef?’

‘Oh, yeah,’ Vi glanced up from the menu with an amused grunt. ‘Serrie’s vegan.’

‘Vegan?’ Caitlyn didn’t mean to sound derisive, but the idea of Vi dating a vegan when she ate approximately six chickens a day was beyond a joke.

‘Since she was nine. Huh, babe?’ Vi channelled all her warmth and affection into a killer grin, only this time Caitlyn wasn’t the target.

Rightly or wrongly, it bothered her. The whole scenario bothered her. After years of Vi putting her first, she’d been demoted to third wheel. The divorce was her own doing, but it chafed.

Seraphine blushed at the attention. Nodded right on cue.

Must’ve felt strange for her, sat across the table from Vi’s soon-to-be ex-wife. Although, she didn’t have to be there, did she? She certainly wasn’t supposed to be.

‘Sorry, um…’ Caitlyn cleared her throat, preparing for the impact of her question. ‘Vi, I have to ask. Why isn’t it just the two of us today?’

Vi and Seraphine gave each other a look, fleeting but wholly revealing; the look of two people teetering on the cusp of something life-changing and impulsive. Their faces bloomed with the same joy and subdued, mind-numbing terror she’d worn the first time she shot a gun.

Naturally, she scanned their fingers for signs of an engagement ring. Both sets of hands were under the table, out of sight.

Interrogation, or flat-out denial? Which tactic would she employ?

‘Never mind; Seraphine’s more than welcome, of course,’ she said. The coward's route, but also the quickest way out of there. ‘Vi, did you bring the papers?’

‘Sure did.’ Vi withdrew a large white envelope from her backpack. ‘Signed and fricking sealed.’

She squeezed Seraphine’s forearm with unabashed glee, eliciting a shy giggle. Never did learn the art of discretion, that one. It felt like they wanted Caitlyn to ask. Just ask.

‘Next stop: delivery,’ Vi confirmed. Nervously bit her lip.

‘Perfect,’ Caitlyn smiled but wanted to scowl.

She refused to ask them. If those two idiots were engaged with the ink still wet on the divorce, more fool them and she wished them well, but it had nothing to do with her. Nothing.

Vi raised an expectant brow, pushing Caitlyn closer and closer to breaking point.

‘Anyway…’ She scooped up the precious envelope and let out the fakest sigh she’d ever heard. ‘So sorry, but I’ve got to get back to work.’ Stood and flung her handbag over her shoulder. So close. The exit was so fucking close. ‘Lovely meeting you, Seraphine.’

‘Caitlyn, wait!’ Two steps towards the door were all it took for Vi to crumble. Her urgent tone told Caitlyn all she needed to know. ‘There’s something we need to tell you.’

Against her will, she turned back, and Seraphine revealed the diamond engagement ring on her finger.

***

‘Fucking hell.’ Caitlyn sighed into her wine, fogging up the glass. Downed the last few drops. ‘I think I’m still a bit in shock.’

She’d headed to Jayce and Viktor’s apartment in upper-west Piltover the second she clocked off, which was… a while ago. A quick catch-up in the kitchen spiralled into hours of venting. She never did this, but between the whole divorce debacle, the night spent with Jinx, and Vi’s abrupt engagement, she needed a friend.

‘Refill?’ Viktor offered, fresh bottle of Rosé in hand as he pre-emptively picked up her empty glass.

‘Amazing,’ she said. ‘Thank you.’

He poured until she gestured for him to stop, handed the glass back to her with a smile, then leant back on his crutches.

‘Maybe make that your last,’ Jayce hinted.

He had his back to them both while he chopped up a selection of vegetables for the coming days’ meal prep, ears pricked. Primed and ready to interject with the least helpful comment possible.

After almost two decades of friendship, she didn’t even have to look at him to see the smug expression on his face. He really thought he’d just told a joke.

‘This,’ she bit back, ‘from the man who can’t even remember last year’s Progress Day because he blacked out on Zaunian moonshine.’ Her next sip went down like a dream. Like victory.

‘She has a point.’ Viktor took her side over Jayce’s, like always.

‘If you say so,’ Jayce tutted. ‘I think she’s had enough, though.’

‘She?’ Caitlyn objected. ‘I’m right here.’

With a huff, Jayce turned to face her, hands on his hips like he was about to tell her off.

‘Sorry,’ he said, no ounce of remorse on display. ‘If I’m honest, I’m a little sick of tonight’s depression bingo, okay?’

‘Wow,’ she smarted. ‘Depression bingo? What the fuck is that supposed to mean?’

‘You’re struggling,’ Jayce said. ‘I get that. But sitting here complaining about it all won’t change anything, Cait. It’s just bumming us out.’

‘Jayce,’ Viktor chastised his boyfriend, employing a subtle yet damning head tilt. ‘Speak for yourself.’

‘I just…’ Jayce hung his head. ‘I like Vi, y’know? I’m happy for her. I think this engagement is good news.’

‘Now’s not the time to play devil’s advocate,’ Viktor warned. ‘Cait’s hurting. Let it be, for now.’

‘Thanks, Vik,’ she said, relieved that he had her back. ‘And Jayce, look, I am happy for her. Mostly. It just seems so quick. Can you imagine marrying someone you’ve known for such a short time? I don’t get it. What’s the rush? Why can’t they date for a while first? Properly get to know each other… Vi can be so reckless sometimes.’

‘Agreed,’ Jayce replied. ‘But if this is what she wants, we have to respect that. Vik?’

He gave a reluctant nod of agreement. ‘It’s not our business.’

‘Exactly.’ Jayce shot her a pointed glare. ‘Not our business.’

They were right, of course. It wasn’t their business. Still felt like Caitlyn’s, though. Like it was her responsibility to stop Vi from making a huge mistake. To protect. Out of love, or residual loyalty, or habit.

She wanted to call Vi up then and there and demand a thorough pros and cons list for the engagement. But she couldn’t. Dug her nails into her palms to suppress the urge. No matter how much it felt like a problem she needed to solve, it wasn’t her place. Caitlyn had no more business meddling in Vi’s life than Jayce or Viktor.

‘Fine,’ she conceded with a gulp. Stared down at the countertop to avoid their eyes.

‘But, uh, I don’t know, maybe…’ Viktor cheekily bobbed his head side to side and moved his hands to match, mimicking a pendulum weighing a decision.

‘What?’

‘I don’t think I want to say it,’ he teased.

‘Spit it out,’ Caitlyn demanded.

‘Yeah,’ Jayce agreed and swigged a mouthful of beer. ‘Can’t be worse than what I said.’

They both snickered at Jayce’s brief moment of self-awareness.

‘Okay,’ Viktor began. ‘Well, Cait, your love life isn’t our business either, so please, tell me to fuck off if you’d like.’

‘…but?’

‘But,’ he continued, ‘I was thinking that, uh, maybe now with the divorce signed off, Vi getting engaged, blah, blah, blah…’ There was that pendulum again, swinging off its axis. ‘Maybe, uh… maybe it’s time for you to dip your pretty toes in the pool again, huh?’

‘You think she’s ready?’ Jayce asked.

‘Think you could ask her that question?’ She snarked.

Sarcasm hid a multitude of sins. Primarily, the fact that she’d already entered the metaphorical pool for a swim. With Jinx.

She sipped more wine and hoped they wouldn’t notice how guilty she looked.

‘Oh, okay.’ Viktor narrowed his eyes, examining her. ‘So, you’ve dipped more than a toe.’

Shame cloyed at her throat. She drank more wine.

‘What?’ Jayce’s laughter echoed through the large kitchen. ‘And you didn’t tell us? Who is she?’

‘You don’t know her,’ she said.

Not a lie, per se. Jayce had met Jinx but only once or twice, always in passing, and she couldn’t think of a single instance with Viktor. Of course, there may have been times without her present, but that was unlikely. Vi inherited Jayce and Viktor’s friendship from Caitlyn. The three of them didn’t hang out unless she was involved. At least, not before the divorce. But after the divorce didn’t count because Jinx and Vi weren’t on speaking terms and—

God, she needed to stop overthinking. Her hook-up with her ex-wife’s sister remained secret. That was all that mattered.

‘I don’t know,’ Viktor teased. ‘You’re blushing.’ He flicked Jayce a grin. ‘Think we know her?’

‘You don’t,’ she insisted. ‘It’s just hot in here.’

‘Aircon’s on,’ Jayce said, deadpan.

‘Cait, y’know what,’ Viktor proffered. ‘Whoever it is, making you blush like that, I’m pleased for you.’

‘There’s honestly no one,’ she said, patience fraying at the seams. ‘Look, I… I had a one-night stand, okay?’

‘Wow!’ Jayce pounced. ‘Little Miss Commitment had a one-night stand!? Did you also get a lobotomy?’

‘Ignore the wind-up,’ Viktor said. ‘I’m… assuming you… enjoyed it? Just, uh, based on your expression.’

‘My expression?’ She fixed her eyes on Viktor, avoiding Jayce’s taunting grin in her periphery.

‘You blushed like you were… maybe reliving it a bit.’

‘Oh.’

She didn’t know what to say. Viktor was too astute and knew her too well. She couldn’t pretend with him.

‘You’re probably right,’ she admitted. ‘It was a great night.’

‘But…?’

‘But then it wasn’t.’

‘How so?’

She stared into her wine and shrugged. Her limbs drained of all energy, resting heavy where she stood. The urge to sleep crept upon her. She could’ve slumped onto the couch so easily. Or fled her friends altogether, fetched a cab home. Anything to stop talking about that fucking night.

‘You don’t have to tell us,’ Viktor comforted.

‘No, no, I’d like to know,’ Jayce said, baring his teeth like a mama bear about to defend her cubs. ‘Did this woman hurt you, Caitlyn? You know, Mel’s on the council and you’re an enforcer; nobody hurts you and gets away with it.’

‘For fuck sake, Jayce, no, nothing like that.’ Exhaustion cracked her voice. ‘Anyway, no matter what happens to me, please never include Mel fucking Medarda in your little revenge fantasy. I already have a mother who wishes that woman was her daughter; I don’t need her replacing me as your best friend, too.’

Jayce’s expression shifted back into mockery mode. Anger lurked behind his eyes, but he seemed convinced by her plea.

‘Aww, you think she hasn’t already?’ He joked. ‘How cute.’

‘Jayce.’ She tensed. ‘I swear, I will hurl this glass at your head.’

‘We have matching t-shirts and everything.’

‘Shut up.’

‘Okay, but seriously,’ he pressed. ‘Have you got a problem with Mel?’

‘I don’t know. I get a weird energy from her. And her politics are just—’

‘What?’ That rage of his flared up again, directed at her this time. ‘Idealistic? She’s advocating for peace, Cait.’

‘I know exactly what Mel’s advocating for,’ she said. ‘My problem is understanding why it matters to her. What’s her angle?’

‘Her angle? Is caring about the wellbeing of a city and its people not enough of an angle for you?’

‘Don’t get defensive, Jayce,’ she tutted, knowing full well it would rile him up further. ‘I’m just expressing my opinion.’

‘Your wrong opinion.’

‘Agree to disagree,’ she said, and turned to Viktor with a sigh. ‘More wine?’

‘In the fridge,’ Viktor said, frowning slightly. ‘You don’t like Mel, Cait?’ He looked sad, like a wounded puppy in one of those charity adverts. ‘Everyone likes Mel.’

‘Exactly.’ She sloped over to the fridge with a sneer. Fetched the wine and plonked it on the countertop. ‘Mel Medarda knows how to play people.’ She listened to the satisfying glug of the wine as it sloshed into the glass. ‘I guarantee she’s a complete cow beneath all those false smiles and promises of progress.’

‘Oh, you guarantee?’ Viktor gave a small, devious smile, like he was plotting something. ‘Because you know her so well?’

‘I’m allowed to not like the people you like,’ she said.

‘Sure,’ he said. ‘She likes you, though.’

‘…what?’

‘Yeah. She thinks you’re… What was it?’ Viktor cast his mind back. Tapped his glass to his chin, drumming the handle of his crutch with his spare hand. ‘Charming, and… Ah. Intriguing.’

‘She does? Why? We’ve barely said two words to each other.’

‘Might that be why?’

Viktor made a good point, but Caitlyn’s confusion deepened.

‘What’re you getting at here?’

‘Geez,’ Jayce shook his head in dismay. ‘For someone who graduated top of her class, you sure can be dense sometimes.’

‘What? What’re you both talking about?’

‘Mel likes you, Cait.’ He spoke in slow motion, enunciating each syllable. ‘And I don’t mean she wants to be friends.’

The mere suggestion nearly made her spit out her wine with a cackle. Mel wasn’t queer… was she? Caitlyn would’ve known. Would’ve sensed it somehow. Right!?

‘It’s true,’ Viktor stated. ‘She’s bisexual. Her and Shoola used to…’ He widened his eyes and raised his brow. ‘Oh, but that stays between us. She likes to be discreet.’

What? Mel Medarda had a sapphic affair with one of her fellow council members? Seriously?

‘Pah! As if!’

***

The following week, by some fluke, Mel Medarda joined the three of them for dinner. Slimy politician or not, she looked phenomenal. Her dark skin glowed in the candlelight as she glided into the restaurant. A cream satin slip dress skimmed her curves, offset by a delicate gold necklace and jet-black, flattering faux locs, interwoven with gold beads and rings. Caitlyn may not have liked Mel much as a person, but she couldn’t deny her striking beauty.

Trying not to stare, she peeled her eyes away. Met with Jayce and Viktor’s smug grins. Oh. The scheming couple had set them up. Treacherous bastards.

What did they think would happen? A few rounds of tequila shots and, hey presto, mutual lady lust? If Caitlyn didn’t like a woman, no matter how attractive they were, nothing would change her mind.

What happened with Jinx was a one-off.

Well, okay, it was more than that. A lot more. More than Caitlyn could afford to keep dwelling on.

Oh, for fuck sake. If she ended up sleeping with Mel in some pathetic attempt at getting over Jinx, Jayce and Viktor were dead men. She had training and access to firearms. They shouldn’t have messed with her.

‘Caitlyn,’ Mel chuckled in surprise as she took her seat at the table, directly opposite. ‘I wasn’t expecting you to be here.’ She eyed up the two men, suspicion afoot. ‘Looks like you both have some explaining to do.’

As if on cue, Jayce and Viktor laughed nervously.

‘Uh, well,’ Jayce began, ‘we didn’t think you’d agree to come if you knew—’

‘If I knew this was a double date?’ Mel beat him to the punch. ‘Don’t worry. I’ve had worse.’

To her credit, she seemed more amused than irritated. Caitlyn, meanwhile, couldn’t speak for fear of making a scene.

Being on the council, Mel had more experience with deception and poise, especially under the tutelage of Cassandra Kiramman. That woman hadn’t expressed a real emotion in at least fifteen years. Not since Caitlyn first raided her father’s secret stash of whisky and drunkenly confessed to liking women.

‘We figured you might like to get to know each other better,’ Viktor said, and shot Caitlyn a discreet, infuriating wink. ‘You’ve been vague acquaintances for… oh, how long?’

‘About five years now, right, Mel?’ Jayce played along. ‘Since you joined Cait’s mom on the council.’

They’d rehearsed this, hadn’t they?

‘Careful, Talis,’ Mel said. ‘You’ll make me feel old.’

‘Please,’ he scoffed. ‘Medardas don’t age. Just look at your mother.’

‘Ah, Ambessa,’ Viktor cut in. ‘How is she?’

Mel and Viktor, close friends that they apparently were, began chatting amongst themselves. Meanwhile, Caitlyn sulked. Yes, she was being rude, and no, she didn’t care.

God, her mother would’ve killed her. Good. If she died, she’d have a better evening.

How would Jinx act around someone like Mel…?

What would she think about Caitlyn on a double date? Would she feel jealous, or apathetic, like when Caitlyn stormed out of her apartment?

‘Cait,’ Jayce, sat next to her, elbowed her arm to get her attention. ‘Aren’t you going to say hi?’

Oh, he thought he was so bloody clever, didn’t he?

‘Wanker,’ she spoke under her breath for only him to hear.

He shook off the insult with a snicker and stretched an arm around her chair, leant in close to her ear.

‘Be nice,’ he whispered. ‘She likes you, remember.’

‘Doesn’t mean I have to like her back. And even if I did, how would that make it okay for you and Viktor to set up this… this pity date?’ She picked up her fork. Imagined stabbing him in the eye with it. ‘How tactful,’ she lamented. ‘Yes, pluck me a date from thin air, lest I remain single for a while. My knight in shining bloody armour. Whatever would I do without you?’

She realised after the fact that most of her little tirade came out full volume. Shit. Hopefully, Mel hadn’t heard.

‘Voice down,’ Jayce hissed.

Mel and Viktor’s conversation carried on without a hitch. Maybe the noise of the busy restaurant swallowed her words?

Or maybe not. On closer inspection, Mel’s smile drooped a little at the corners, while manicured fingers worried at the gold hoops threaded through her ears.

Guilt scorched Caitlyn’s cheeks. The last thing she wanted was for Mel to feel embarrassed. Jayce and Viktor had a lot to answer for. Her head spun with the ethics of it all.

She and Mel deserved better. They didn’t need this level of interference in their lives, especially not from a couple of well-intentioned, clueless men.

‘This isn’t a pity date,’ Jayce contrived. ‘Where did that idea even come from?’

‘Hmm, let’s see,’ she fumed, but kept her voice low so Mel couldn’t hear any further. ‘I’m thirty, single, and finalising a divorce to a woman who’s already engaged to someone else, like marriage is a game of bloody tag. That’s got pity written all over it.’

‘Cait,’ he softened. Gripped her hand in support. ‘Okay. I’m sorry. We obviously didn’t mean for you to interpret it that way. Vik and I thought this would be a fun night for you. No pity involved. I promise.’

‘…you do realise that apologising for how I’ve interpreted your actions isn’t an actual apology, right?’

‘Cait.’ His gentleness faded. ‘Come on. We’re all here to enjoy ourselves and you’re sulking like a moody teen.’

‘Funny,’ she spat. ‘I’m having a whale of a time.’

‘Wow. Your only child syndrome is shining tonight.’

‘Ditto.’

‘All I’m asking is that you stop being a brat for two minutes and give this date a chance. Mel’s great. You might have a good time.’

‘Maybe if you weren’t here bothering me, I would.’

‘Really? You’re that pissed off with us?’

‘Not at Viktor. Just you.’

‘What? Why? It was his idea as much as mine.’

‘So? He’s not the one badgering me about it.’

With a tut of disdain, Jayce pushed away from her and settled back into his corner of the table. Left to stew alone, she downed half her glass of wine in one.

Their frostiness finally drew Mel and Viktor’s attention. They stopped talking and looked straight at her. Jayce stared her down, too. There it was: scene, made.

‘Well…’ She attempted a smile. Tried to keep her hands and voice steady. ‘This is lovely. Not awkward at all.’

Across the table, Mel held herself in a fixed pose of grace and compassion. Straight spine; relaxed shoulders; hands neatly folded. Her eyes shone, alert and attentive, and a slight smile dimpled her cheeks.

Even under stress, the woman showed no flaws. They had to be there somewhere, lurking in the contours of her face, itching to reveal themselves. Caitlyn wanted to see. Just one, tiny defect to prove Mel was human. She didn’t ask for much.

‘Jayce? Viktor?’ Mel met Caitlyn’s eyes, then theirs. ‘Is what Caitlyn said true?’ Her rich brown irises blackened as her tone grew colder. ‘Is this a pity date?’

‘Uhhhhh…’ Viktor squinted and frowned like he’d just tasted something foul. ‘When did she say that?’

‘Just answer,’ Mel implored. ‘Be honest.’

‘Heh. Well. That’s not, uh… hmm… not how I’d put it…’

‘How would you put it?’ Caitlyn fired Viktor the most chilling glare in her arsenal.

‘Oh, come on,’ Jayce leapt to his boyfriend’s defence. ‘Pity has nothing to do with it.’

‘Nothing,’ Viktor reaffirmed. ‘We, uh… we spied an opportunity, that’s all.’

‘Makes you sound like crooks,’ Mel noted.

Caitlyn sniggered; she’d thought the same thing.

‘Well,’ Viktor sighed. ‘If we’re crooks, we… we broke the law in the name of finding love. Worth it, no?’

‘Nice try,’ Caitlyn scoffed. ‘But no.’

‘If I may?’ Mel kept her tone as measured as her body language. Looked each of them in the eye as she continued. ‘This is all far too messy for me. I don’t do complications, not when it comes to dating. Not anymore.’

Jayce and Viktor donned identical, knowing smiles. Whatever happened with Shoola must’ve done a number on her.

‘I think I’ll go; simplify things.’ Mel glanced back at Caitlyn. ‘If you could please keep this—whatever this was—to yourself, I’d be grateful. I like to keep my personal life personal. Especially with the council.’

A familiar fear distorted Mel’s features. Half a second and it disappeared, but Caitlyn knew it. She knew it like she knew her own name. Something she’d been born and raised with. Something she couldn’t escape from. That gnawing need to conform to the standards set out for her by family, society, everyone she met. The scalding terror of being her authentic self.

Mel Medarda was a professional, powerful woman, and she couldn’t risk jeopardising that for anything. Not even to live comfortably in her own skin. As a Kiramman, Caitlyn understood that conflict better than most.

In that moment, her perspective shifted. Fascinating, how one new piece of information about a person could alter her entire opinion of them.

‘Caitlyn?’ Anxiety bled through the cracks of Mel’s façade. ‘I need to know you won’t tell your mother about this.’

‘Don’t worry,’ she smiled in solidarity. ‘I won’t.’

Another shift occurred. She looked at Mel and didn’t want her to leave.

‘Stay?’ She asked. ‘Never mind the date thing. Stay. Have a drink. As friends?’

Mel tilted her head with a snicker; tempted.

‘You won’t regret it, Mel,’ Jayce piped up. That classic Talis smugness returned tenfold. ‘As crazy as it might sound, you two have a lot more in common than you think.’

‘We’re both mad at you right now,’ Caitlyn said. ‘Guess we must be soulmates. Are those wedding bells I hear? Maybe we can have a joint ceremony with Vi and Seraphine?’

‘Hilarious,’ Jayce grunted and slammed a fist into the table.

The cutlery on his and Caitlyn’s side of the table rattled. Viktor tried to withhold his amusement, but his eyes watered and bulged, fit to pop a blood vessel. Mel, however, didn’t hold back. She let out a glorious, wild, unfiltered laugh. Caitlyn followed her lead.

‘Oh, great,’ Jayce huffed. ‘So, you’re getting along at our expense now.’

‘At least they’re getting along,’ Viktor reasoned with him, and reached out across the table for his hand. Their fingers laced together. ‘Your round,’ he mouthed.

With the aura of a little boy being sent to sit on the naughty step, Jayce slouched over to the bar to order their second round of drinks. Caitlyn snickered as she watched him. Maybe that evening didn’t have to be a disaster after all?

Aside from her bisexuality, the first true, likeable thing Caitlyn learnt about Mel Medarda was her respect for people who spoke their minds and asserted themselves. She admired Caitlyn’s honesty about wanting friendship, even when it cost her comfort.

The second thing? Mel made Caitlyn laugh. As the wine flowed, her poised demeanour melted away to reveal an acerbic wit similar to Caitlyn’s own. Her wry jokes about the council, with all its prehistoric protocol and antiquated ideals, had Caitlyn in tears and nearly wetting herself.

And the third? Mel heard her. She focused on Caitlyn’s words rather than rushing to assumptions. Held Caitlyn’s hand when she stumbled onto a tangent about the stress of the divorce and her recent mental state.

There was so much more to Mel Medarda than her position on the council. Challenging and toxic relationships with mothers and lovers had profoundly affected both of them. They listened to each other. Related to each other. Comforted each other.

To Caitlyn’s disbelief, a true friendship bloomed. Mel’s company put her at ease in unexpected ways. So much so, she almost told her about Jinx.

Mel might’ve had some wisdom on the subject. Some words of advice to ease Caitlyn out of her slump. Her depression, as Jayce so lovingly put it. Mel could’ve listened and interpreted, relieved Caitlyn of the uncertainty and shame surrounding that night. Could’ve further dissected the situation and analysed the potential factors that led to Jinx’s shutdown. Could’ve helped Caitlyn understand.

She needed to understand.

In the end, as much as she wanted to, she didn’t mention it. Kept Jinx and those endless questions safely tucked away. It was a private pain, too intimate to share with anyone else.

Mel couldn’t have fixed it, anyway, but her company acted as a salve. A temporary relief.

After several hours of council gossip and skirting around the hole in Caitlyn’s heart, the four of them stepped out into the balmy summer night. Jayce and Viktor hailed a cab in a matter of seconds; a flagrant last-ditch attempt at kindling romance between the two women. As their taxi pulled away from the kerb, Caitlyn waved them off with a fake smile and flipped them her middle finger.

‘I’m this way,’ Mel said, leaning her head slightly left.

‘Oh, um…’ Caitlyn floundered.

What did Mel mean? Did she want Caitlyn to join her? What could she say to let her new friend down gently?

‘Caitlyn, I like you…’

Shit.

‘We’ve had a lovely evening,’ Mel continued with a fond, knowing smile.

Shit, shit, shit.

‘But let’s be honest…’

Oh, thank God.

‘We both know that this isn’t happening, don’t we?’

Thank fucking god.

‘Absolutely,’ Caitlyn agreed. ‘Yep. Yep, yep, yep. Not happening in the slightest.’ Guilt needled her ribs like a stitch after running too fast. ‘Sorry. I like you too, as a person, somehow, after getting to know you better. Just… not like that… But you won me over, Medarda. You’re surprisingly brilliant.’

‘Surprisingly brilliant?’ Mel narrowed her eyes in playful scrutiny. ‘Not sure why it’s such a surprise, but I’ll take it.’

‘You should.’ She raised her brows to sell the mock threat. ‘Now that we’re friends, that might be the last backwards compliment I ever give you.’

They shared one last giggle before making their separate ways home.

So, that was the real Mel Medarda? No wonder Jayce and Viktor liked her so much.

***

The following week, Vi and Seraphine invited her to their upcoming engagement party. Rather than outright reject the idea, Caitlyn listened. Reflected on it.

She disapproved of the union, but Vi’s invite was an olive branch. The brides-to-be promised a free bar and her choice of a plus-one. Jayce and Viktor were invited, too. Rude to say no.

She texted Mel that same day, asking if she would tag along as a friend, and they set the date.

Everything slotted into place.

***

Six months after their tryst, Jinx remained the only unknown variable in Caitlyn’s life.

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larrygirls · 2 years

Text

Here are a few of the fics I’ve read recently (december til now)! I went for awhile without reading any so that's why it took me so long to make one of these again. Hope you enjoy! -Emma

📓Just A Touch Of Your Love by thegirlontheblackhoodie Word Count: 12K Summary: Harry is a touch starved omega trying to get through it on his own. Louis happens to be the only alpha around to realize it and offers to help.

📓Flowers Don’t Tell (They Show) by loulicate Word Count: 16K Summary: Harry is a lawyer, Louis owns a flower shop. Harry goes into his shop to buy his mom flowers and falls in love with the cute florist boy.

📓Everywhere & Nowhere by 2tiedships2 Word Count: 16K Summary: Niall took a seat and said, "Apparently Louis' downstairs neighbor is a fan of giving Louis creepy gifts. Maybe I should go introduce myself and tell him that Louis actually prefers food." "What has he given you?" Liam asked. Louis shrugged as it were no big deal. "There was a rabbit's foot keychain on the door a little after he left from introducing himself and there was a small teddy bear sitting by my door tonight. Obviously I can't prove it's from him, but they seem to have his scent. I could be wrong though." "Wow," Liam said, looking deep in thought. "That's old school." “What's old school?" Niall asked. "Giving creepy gifts?” "I've never known an alpha to do it, to be honest, but he's courting you.” Louis couldn't contain his look of disbelief directed at Liam. "He's courting me. Like some sort of romantic shit they'd do in the 1800s or something?"

📓A Springtime’s Wilt, An Autumn’s Bloom by snowcaplou Word Count: 20K Summary: Harry is Louis' personal chauffeur, and although he hides his feelings for his boss behind a wall of rigid professionalism, Louis still manages to squeeze through the cracks.

📓We Both Got Nothing to Hide by lovelarry10 Word Count: 43K Summary: Omega Louis has a secret nest. Alpha Harry keeps losing his clothes.

📓Your Touch Shouldn't Make Me Feel Like This by thinlines Word Count: 48K Summary: Uni AU in which Alpha Harry has been in love with his omega friend for the longest time and one motorbike trip to the countryside with Louis made him realize that he could no longer hold back his feelings.

📓Suicidal Chemistry by sullenlarry Word Count: 58K Summary: As long as he can remember, Harry has always been sure of one thing: he's in love with his oblivious best-friend, Louis. There's just one minor problem....Louis has depression. Harry works at a bakery, but he's really made a full time job out of trying to save Louis from himself. What happens when a quack named Dr. Horan tells him to take Louis on a vacation? Individual feelings will be explored...but can Louis love him back or is the will to live too far gone?

📓The Nightingale by thebluejay1 Word Count: 66K Summary: Louis Tomlinson is a daily customer at the local bakery. His life changes when he meets Harry Styles, the boy behind the register. But when Harry finds out about Louis' abusive boyfriend, he does everything in his power to protect him. Through it all, they become closer. Will Louis choose fear over true love?

📓Unbelievers by isthatyoularry Word Count: 136K Summary: It’s Louis’ senior year, and he’s dead set on doing it right. However, along with his pair of cleats, a healthy dose of sarcasm and his ridiculous best friend, he’s also got a complicated family, a terrifyingly uncertain future, and a mortal enemy making his life just that much worse. Mortal enemies “with benefits” was not exactly the plan.

Or: The one where Louis and Harry definitely aren’t friends, and football is everything.

📓The Longer The Wait The Sweeter The Kiss (It’s Better My Darlin’ I Promise You This) by pleasinglouis Word Count: 160K Summary: It all started with a letter from his grandmother's Executor of the Estate. His life had been just fine in New York, he'd had a great internship, more friends than he knew what to do with, and a powerful family name to provide a million opportunities for him. But the minute he'd received that letter a desire for more was born. That was how he wound up here, stranded on the side of a dusty old road with a broken down car and a carry-on full of dreams.

(Or Louis is a big city omega that can't stand stubborn alphas and Harry is the southern cowboy that hates the city)

#ficrecs #larry #fanfiction

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hyunsuks-beanie · 3 years

Text

Magenta Lilacs

Han Jisung x reader; non idol AU; 1.5k words; super fluffy, mild crack

A/N: I've written a couple of rather angsty scenarios recently, and I figured I need a more fluff something now. And who better for a fluff than our quokka?

"How do I look?," you ask your best friend Seungmin as he helps you get dressed for your date with your crush, Han Jisung, later that evening.

You and Jisung have crushing on each other for almost a year now, and while it was painfully obvious to every single one of your friends, you two remained blissfully oblivious to the other's feelings. That is until Felix, your classmate and Jisung's best friend, locked you two in a broom closet, refusing to let you out until you kissed. The kiss was... memorable to say the least, being equal parts awkward and sweet. When Felix finally did let you out, Jisung shyly asked you out on a date. Nothing too fancy, just some coffee at the campus cafe. You guys have been hanging out frequently since that day, and today would be your fourth date. You're going to the yearly carnival, and you can't help but feel fireworks going off in your stomach at the thought of finally confessing your true feelings to Jisung, something that Seungmin has dared you to do tonight.

"If you're gonna go on your date looking like that, I'm afraid you won't be able to confess tonight, babe." You whip around at that, confused. "Because Hanji is gonna pass out as soon as he sees you," he smiles, before setting your hair properly. You shove him playfully, before saying, "I'm nervous, Minnie. What if he's not ready yet? What if the dates are just casual outings for him? What if I mess everything up?" "Hey hey hey," he says, grabbing your shoulder. "Take a deep breath. You're gonna be okay, and trust me. He's just as serious about these dates as you are. He'll be your boyfriend before midnight strikes tonight. And on that note, don't you dare stay out after midnight, young lady," your best friend says suddenly, with mock strictness, making you shake your head at his antics.

As if on cue, your doorbell rings, telling you that Jisung has arrived to pick you up. You hug Seungmin goodbye, and open the door, revealing Jisung standing there, looking gorgeous in a denim jacket with a plain white T-shirt. You catch yourself staring at him, and, once you step out of your trance, you notice that he's doing the same. You smile and snap your finger in front of him, making him scratch his neck in embarrassment. "You look really nice today, Ji," you smile. He replies, "You look very cute too, Y/N," making you blush. "Ready to go?," he asks. "Lead the way!," you say. You walk to the festival in comfortable silence, occasionally talking about random stuff. After a while, you notice that he slips his hand into yours, making you stop short. He stops too, and starts removing his hand from yours. You grip his hand tighter, while softly saying, "They fit together really well." He smiles at this, and you continue walking. Once there, you both drag each other towards different stalls that pique your interest. You bring him along to a shooting game, winning him a teddy bear. Jisung then brings you along to a flower shop, telling you about their meanings. "These magenta lilacs are my personal favourite," he tells you. "What do they mean?," you ask. "Love and passion," he says shyly. You bite your lip, just as the shop owner says, "Go on, buy them. These flowers are all the rage among young lovers these days, and you two sure make a cute pair." You both start blushing, before Jisung silently thanks the shop owner and buys a bouquet of the flowers. "Thank you, I really love them," you say. The two of you visit many other stalls. Laughing at the house of mirrors, sharing a single candyfloss, having a competition to see who can eat a plate of dumplings the fastest, you guy lose track of time, and soon enough, it's a quarter to twelve. "Let's go to the ferris wheel," you suggest, thinking back on the plan Seungmin had been feeding into your brain for the past two days. "That's funny, because I was just going to suggest the same thing," smiles Jisung. Unbeknownst to you, Felix had set him up to the exact same task that Seungmin had assigned you, with the both of them hoping that even if one of you chickens out, the other will end up confessing. With that, you get in line, and by the time it's five minutes to midnight, it's your turn to board the ride. You feel your hands shaking, but thankfully from nervousness for what's to come, but thankfully, Jisung takes your hand into his at exactly that moment, helping you relax. "What's the worse that could happen, right?," you mentally ask yourself. Your brain replies, "Oh nothing much, he could just reject you, giving you the most awkward five minutes of your life. Or, the ride could suddenly break down, killing you all." You scrunch your nose at the pessimistic thoughts, but don't have much time to ponder over them, as your ride starts. Two minutes to twelve, and you two are just sitting there in silence. This is the first time during the date that the silence has felt awkward, and it doesn't do much to ease your nerves. Once your watch strikes twelve, you turn to look at Jisung, only to find him already looking at you. "Ji, I have something-" "Y/N, I wanted to tell you-," you both start at the same time, causing the both of you to giggle. "You first," he says. "Okay, so here goes," you start, closing your eyes. "We've been on quite a few dates now, and I've really enjoyed the past month and a half of spending time with you. You're so smart, cool, funny, witty, sweet, soft, and every other good adjective, with just the right amount of loudness. I love hanging out with you, and spending time with you. Being with you makes me feel giddy inside, and I think I know what this feeling is," you open your eyes right before your big confession, but instead of your next line, you end up saying, "What?," with a confused expression. "What?," Jisung asks, tilting his head. "You're looking at me funny," you say, causing him to laugh nervously. "Oh, uhm, yeah, because I kind of, know

what you're gonna say next," he says, rubbing his neck. "You do? How?," you ask, with an even more confused expression. "Because I've been practicing the exact same lines for the past two days, minus the adjectives, of course. Because I had a different set of those ready," he says, shy all of a sudden. "Look, let me come clean," he continues, "I like you, a hell lot. And I've been trying to confess to you, so Felix created a plan for me to tell you how I feel, today at midnight. I was going to say the exact same things you said just now, and finish with a super smooth, 'A new day is just starting, so how about we make this the start of a new relationship for us, as well?,' but I guess you beat me to it." By the time he's done, you are staring at him with your mouth agape. "I was going to say the exact same thing too!! And it was Seungmin who suggested this to me," you exclaim. Just then, you both realize that your turn at the ferris wheel is over, and you get off the ride. After walking a few feet, Jisung stops you. "So, if you were going to say the same things, then does that mean you like me too?," he asks nervously. "Of course Hanji, is that even a question?," you giggle. "So what does that mean for us?," he asks with a smile. You give him a small hug, before whispering in his ear, "I guess I'm gonna start calling you my 'boyfriend' now." "I'd like that," he says, hugging you back, before taking your hand again. "In all honesty though, Seungmin and Felix are dead meat," you laugh, with him joining in.

Once the two of you stop laughing, you realize how close your faces are. You stare at him, eyes flicking from his eyes to his lips and back. This doesn't escape his notice, and he softly asks you, "Is it okay if I kiss you?," you simply nod, pressing your lips to his in a kiss that is equal parts soft and sweet. It is just like you had imagined. Your lips molded perfectly together, and he tasted like the candyfloss you had eaten earlier. You smile into the kiss, which makes his shoulders, that he didn't know were tense, relax. When you finally break away, he pulls you in for another hug, kissing your forehead softly.

"Should they be dead meet though? I feel like we should be thanking them for daring us to confess, or else I don't know how many more dates it would have taken. Although I admit, the dialog they came up with was way too cheesy," Jisung says. To this, you reply by snuggling into his chest even more. "Might as well be the reason why they don't have partners yet. But we'll think about them tomorrow. For now, you're all that's on my mind."

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georgiapeach30513 · 2 years

Note

I’m the one who mentioned imagining Story and Carter. I just read “I Own It” and I can’t. They’re too cute!

So what you’re saying is you want a bit more of Story and Carter right? Miss Little Dreamer did invite Carter to her 17th birthday, but did he show up?

Happy Birthday, Princess

Summary: Story turns 17

Pairings: Carter Baizen X Story Drysdale

Rating: fluff

Warnings: None, 18+ ONLY

Word Count: 1.3K

Desperate Lives AU Masterlist

Story Drysdale Masterlist

You walk into Story’s bedroom, because you know that her party didn’t go the way she wanted it to. Your little baby, despite her big personality, always seems to get overlooked. Her oldest sisters are twins that are both living their successful lives, Blade is a genius, and Story is the one that even with her charming ways has struggled. So, when you saw her passed out in her window nook, no doubt saying her wish to her special little star. You press a kiss onto the top of her head, and cover her up. “I’m sorry,” you whisper. You aren’t sure who she was looking for, but whoever it was, didn’t show.

Closing the door softly to her tower, you walk back down to your own room to get in the bed with your grumpy husband. He isn’t happy about Aster’s big announcement, and even worse that his baby cried at her own birthday. Story continues to dream about a different scenario for tonight as Carter walks up to her tower. From his angle he can’t see that she’s asleep, but he sees a soft glow coming from her room. With a deep breath he proceeds to climb up this godforsaken trellis, slipping a few times, and when he reaches her window, seeing her fast asleep and her lips puckering out a bit, he almost, almost goes back down, and then he remembers the little box he has in his box.

Carter taps against the window a bit, and Story jumps awake, her round eyes as big as saucers, but she gives him her megawatt smile, that is one hundred percent Story Drysdale, before opening her windows, “What’re you doing Baizen?”

“Well, it was the Princess of Boston’s birthday, and I needed to issue my apologies. I am but your loyal subject, Sir Lancelot, so if you could please let me in and out of the cold, that would be great, your highness.”

Even though Story rolls her eyes, she steps out of the way for Carter to crawl into her room. “It’s changed a lot,” he hums looking around her room.

“Maybe because I’m not ten years old anymore. People do grow up.”

“It’s still you though. Were you making your wish princess?”

Story grabs her blanket, pulling it over her arms, she sits back on the bench, tapping it for Carter to join. “I love how you’re telling me happy birthday and making fun of me at the same time.”

“I’m not. You’re just sitting in your tower, and fell asleep at the window. Still unlocked I see.”

“You remember that?” Carter nods a yes. “Well, still waiting on Prince Charming to climb my tower and save me Sir Lancelot,” there is a moment where the two of them only stare at one another. Too quiet in this tower room, and Carter quickly turns to look out the window.

“Which one is your star again?”

Story giggles, but picks up his hand to show him, “Sirius.”

“Ah, I’m not the only one that remembers. Tell me princess why did you fall asleep so early on your birthday?”

“For one, I was waiting on someone that never showed.”

Carter shrugs his shoulder, and shakes his head, “I had some things I just couldn’t leave. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry. What’s the other thing?”

“Aster announced her engagement to the wonderful and boring Scott Huffman,” she mimics retching, rolling her eyes to look back out the window, afraid to see Carter’s reaction to this revelation. “Then daddy got angry because Scott just proposed. He never even asked daddy for his permission. I couldn’t say yes if someone didn’t ask Ransom Drysdale. I doubt if anyone would. He’s really a big teddy bear, you know that right?”

“To you maybe. You could murder somebody, and all you would have to do is put your finger around his wedding band and look up at him with those big round eyes and say, ‘Daddy, I’m sorry’,” Story laughs because it’s true. “There it is.”

“What?”

“The smile that lights up your whole face and the room that you’re in.”

“Stop Baizen. Why did you come here anyways?”

“I brought you a present,” he digs around in his pocket to retrieve the small box.

Story with a bit more poise opens the box, before closing it shaking her head, “Carter, no. I can’t take this.”

“Yes, you can. I picked it out just for you,” grabbing the box out of her hand, he wraps the diamond tennis bracelet around her wrist. “You would always run your fingers over your moms when you were little. I wanted you to have your own.”

“Hers is the first piece of jewelry daddy ever got her.”

“Before the engagement ring?” she nods her head.

“Mom, said it was when she knew that Ransom Drysdale loved her. Thank you.”

“Still got your necklace on,” Story nods her head. “You and Beau?”

“It’s weird.”

“Why?”

Story takes a deep breath and makes herself look away from Carter, “Maybe because his sister is my sister. I’ve grown up with the kid.”

“So did Iris and James.”

“Those two are freaks of nature. That’s not normal,” her fingers go to mess with the rose pendent, even though she isn’t aware she’s doing it, Carter can’t keep from watching the movement of the rose sliding backwards and forwards on the delicate chain.

“Is that why you still have the rose?’’ an underlying question of Carter wondering if she had given her heart or innocence to anyone.

“Something like that,” and this is what he was afraid of. He knows that Story is like forbidden fruit. Something that he shouldn’t touch, but like always, he’s drawn to her. Everything about her exudes sunshine and happiness.

“So, you and Beau...?”

“We’ve kissed. Don’t tell daddy,” Carter would never dream of mentioning anyone kissing Story. He doesn’t even want to have this conversation, but he needs to know what her relationship status is, and how cautious he should be. “It was nice, but weird.”

“How so?”

She turns to look at him, “He’s not the one I want to kiss.”

“Who is then?” he inches closer to her.

“I think you know.”

He gets even closer, “Just tell me.”

With a single flick of her eyes to his lips you knock on the door, “Story? Baby, if you haven’t could you get on the bed,” the two of them pause, and Story rolls her eyes, frustrated that you stopped the kiss she’s wanted since she was a little girl.

“I’m in the bed, mom.”

Your eyes stare at the dark stained door, “Baby, I’m sorry about how tonight went. Want me to make you some hot chocolate or something, and we can talk about who you were looking for, and how he’s an idiot for not showing up.”

Story’s eyes close and she looks at her lap, “I’m fine. Just tired.”

“Okay, well, I love you. Get some sleep.”

Story’s eyes stay on her lap. Her fingers twitch, and she has no desire to look into Carter’s eyes again this evening. “I, um, I should go. It won’t be long until Ransom Drysdale is knocking on the door, and I don’t want to die tonight.”

“Carter?” she finally looks up at him, “Thanks.”

His fingers go to the rose pendant, thumb rubbing across the worn white rose, “Keep it safe. Wouldn’t want unexpected people crawling up to your bedroom. Happy birthday princess,” he leans forward to give her a kiss on the cheek. She watches him carefully crawl down her tower.

“I was waiting on you, Sir Lancelot,” she gives him a final wave, before closing the window, still leaving it unlocked. Thinking maybe one day, he’ll just crawl on in. Maybe one day.

Masterlist

#desperate lives au #desperate lives #desperate affairs #desperate affairs au #DA AU #desperate universe #desperate descendants #story drysdale #carter baizen #story drysdale x carter baizen #knives out #knives out fanfiction #gossip girl #gossip girl fanfiction #sebastian stan #evanstan verse

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unhealthyfanobsession · 3 years

Note

Soft Nessian cuddles/slice of life? 🥺 writers choice for universe ❤️

See now that writers choice of universe was dangerous because it got me thinking about a comment from one of my faves- @talkfantasytome on Going For Gold asking for more of a certain day. I won’t call this canon for that fic because I don’t think Nesta was quite at this point then in the story, but I’m writing the Drabble I would’ve put in that chapter if Nesta were more of a soft girl.

No worries if you don’t read GFG, this can be read alone. Context is simply: Olympic Village AU, Cassian just won a gold medal and Nesta just realized she’s in love with him. He’s been in love with her for some time now, obviously.

It was annoying, quite frankly. This feeling. Like her heart was trying to pry her rib bones apart and offer itself raw and unprotected to the giant teddy bear of a man in front of her.

Nesta was an elite athlete. Her heart rate was so low most of the time that she barely registered it was in her chest. Which… maybe that was a metaphor, but Nesta didn’t have time to care about metaphors right now because as previously stated, her heart was pounding.

And it just got worse. As everyone piled on to congratulate Cassian. As she saw his face splashed across her news app. As she waited, patiently, for them to be alone. She was feeling unsettled and apparently now when she was feeling unsettled she wanted to be near him. Which was ridiculous. And inconvenient as hell.

It took approximately four hundred years before they were back in his bed. Where they’d joked that morning about him leaving her there because he loved to see her all warm and cozied up in his covers.

Nesta said nothing. Only took his hand and pulled him into his own bed. Sat cross legged with her spine against his pillows and motioned for him to do the same.

Cassian knew something was up, but he just smirked a little and joined her. Mimicking the position so that his knees knocked against hers.

“No.” Nesta shook her head. “Nope. I can’t look at you while I say this. Ugh!” Nesta humphed herself out of the bed and pointed at her vacated spot. “Up there.”

“Bossy,” Cassian grinned, settling himself against the headboard. “I could get into that.”

Nesta just rolled her eyes. Crawled back into the bed like some stupid pathetic love sick kitten and laid her back against his chest. Pulled his legs apart so she could sit in between them and lulled her head back onto his broad chest. Cassian, the unreasonable pillar of perfection that he was, instantly rested his chin on her head and wrapped both of his massive arms tight around her waist.

Her only consolation was that his heart was also racing where she could feel it beating against her back.

“Congratulations.” She said quietly.

“Thanks.”

“This… this is supposed to be about you. And I know that. And the rest of the day can be. You made it about me when I won my medals, but first we have to talk. Because I have a problem.”

His whole body stiffened against hers. “Ok?”

“My problem is that I don’t do this. And I’ve told you that. And you’ve been patient and sweet and understanding. You haven’t pushed me at all. Which is a part of my problem.”

“You want me to push you?”

“I want you to be less perfect,” Nesta grumbled. “Because when you do things like wrap your arms around me at night and tell me I’m beautiful and that you don’t even care when I’m being a massive bitch. When you do things like let me drag you around a museum for hours and point at me in a crowd the second after you win a gold medal I… I start to get feelings. Feelings that I don’t understand.”

Cassian’s chest rumbled with laughter against Nesta’s back.

“Don’t mock me!”

“I’m not.” Cassian assured her with a kiss to the top of her head. “Why don’t you finish and then let me know when it’s my turn.” He said it casually, but his legs moved to tangle with hers and his arms tightened until she wasn’t sure if she was keeping herself together or he was doing it for her.

“Ok. You make me want things, Cassian. Things that I never knew I could even want. I knew I could want sex and physical touch and maybe even love in some weird way, but I never… you make me want to prance through the street like an idiot holding your hand. You make me want to visit the Eiffel Tower and drink too much wine in a candlelit restaurant. You make me want a life that I… I’m so afraid I’m not capable of. You make me want a little house on a cul de sac. You make me think about what a person who was half me and half you might look like. You just… you make me want things, Cassian. And I don’t know how to have those things.”

“My turn?”

“Your turn.”

Cassian grasped his hands around her waist and easily flipped Nesta around, her legs spreading around his hips and her arms going around his neck until she was hanging onto him like a baby koala bear. It was disgusting. And everything she had ever wanted.

His hand rubbed idle circles along the small of her back. “I love you.” He’d said those words for the first time that morning and he thought it was a mistake, but it wasn’t. It couldn’t be. “I’ve wanted those things since the second I saw you, Nesta. Every minute with you is like being a person I don’t recognize. I’m a wrestler! And you make me this gooey, marshmallowy, puddle of puppy dog eyes and searing touches. The games aren’t even over yet but if you want to see the Eiffel Tower then let’s go. If you want to see the pyramids or the Congo or go white water rafting down the damn Nile then let’s go. You and me. Whatever you want.”

Cassian’s shirt was damp. Not a lot, just a little puddle where Nesta let out a few silent tears. “You can have anything you want. Anything. You are extraordinary and I know you’re scared. I’m scared too, but I’m also sure. Sure of us and the future and what we can do with it. I’m sure about you, Nesta.”

“I’m so scared to be apart after this,” she admitted.

“I’m not.” Cassian held her closer. “We could be in different dimensions, different universes, and I would still love you. I’m not afraid of the distance, but… why don’t you come with me?”

“What?” Nesta blinked up at him, blue-grey eyes wide and bleary.

“After the games. Come with me to England. You need to figure stuff out for you and Feyre’s move and I’ll be there for months on this project… come with me.”

Nesta smiled, but Cassian couldn’t see it. Because she lurched forward and smiled against his lips. “Yes,” she whispered between earth shattering kisses. “Let’s do it. Let’s be together. Let’s… want.”

“No,” Cassian smirked, “let’s have.”

#nessian #nessian fanfiction #drabbles open #nesta archeron #acosf #cassian #nesta and cassian #a court of thorns and roses #sarah j maas #a court of silver flames #a court of mist and fury #acotar

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hansolmates · 4 years

Text

jjk; off-league

summary; you decide to do a little boudoir photoshoot for yourself—a little sexy lingerie, some bunny ears, maybe even a little nudity to make you feel more body positive about yourself. that little photoshoot doesn’t end up being for yourself anymore when you accidentally send those sexy pictures to your stupidly hot, stupidly talented childhood friend who you haven’t spoken to since middle school graduation. pairing; photographer!jk x fem!reader genre/warnings; childhood friends to lovers!au, flangst, mutual pining, feelings of insecurity and body image, suggestive language, nudity w.c; 6.2k a/n: i was feeling a lil meh about this fic after finishing it but a month later it finally makes its debut! for @btsghostiewritersnet BGW Bingo Bash! today’s trope is “childhood friends to lovers” which surprisingly isn’t a favorite of mine so it was definitely a challenge to write!

“C’mon, I need your opinion. Deadass. Don’t just say shit to make me feel better.”

“Gimmie those nudes, baby girl,” Johnny makes an impeccable fuckboy impersonation, making you feel a little squirmy to your stomach.

It’s an hour away from being the ass-crack’o-dawn and your impromptu pin-up photoshoot just needs the sexy-star-of-approval from your best friend. Johnny Suh is also up for reasons unmentioned, but you had a feeling his pretty boyfriend is fifty percent of the reason.

You look at yourself in the mirror, smoothing your frame against the black bodice of the sheer teddy. The only parts that are fully concealed are the parts that don’t matter. The sheer bodice reveals your pert nipples concealed by a thin black mesh, coupled with the deep V in the sweetheart neckline, accented by a little black bow in the dive of your highlighted cleavage. The silky a-line raceways to a set of black garters hugging your thighs, barely hanging onto a pair of lace thigh-highs.

It doesn’t leave you butt naked, but enough to make you feel confident about yourself. These pictures are for you, and Johnny. And Johnny’s boyfriend if he’s being nosy.

You tug off the silk bunny ears from your head, flinging it somewhere in your room. The wire started to dig in your brain, giving you a major headache.

“Sending them now,” you hang up and start compiling the pictures in a folder on Google Drive. Once that’s done you copy the shareable link, sending it to Johnny’s number. It happens all so fast, and you feel kind of giddy. As you were posing for the camera, taking your time to find all the right angles, you felt good, you felt sexy in your little get up. Channeling your inner Ariana Grande was one of your childhood dreams, your fifteen year old self would be proud.

Five minutes pass, fifteen, and by the twenty-five minute mark you’re pissed. What’s taking Johnny so long?

Makeup scrubbed clean and face bare, you shuffle in your duvet, far too tired to be waiting up this long. Punching in his number once more, you cry, “Hey! Why haven’t you looked at them yet?”

“What?” your friend’s voice sounds pebbly through the line. Was Johnny sleeping? “You never sent them!” he whines tiredly.

“No, I definitely sent them!” you pull the phone away and keep Johnny on call, ready to prove him wrong.

But to your surprise, the last message you sent to Johnny was this afternoon.

The most recent message is to a person named John Kook.

You scream.

Johnny screams back at you with an equal amount of force, “What the fuck? Did someone break in? Are you being mobbed? See, this is why I wanted to put the baby monitor in your room—”

“Worse!” you’re well prepared for any break in, but not for this. “I sent my pics to the wrong John!”

“Well… is he at least cute?”

“I mean, in the fourth grade he looked pretty cute with that front tooth missing,” you find your output of frustration, your bunny plush, pulling it by the ear and hitting it against the bed. “His name isn’t even John! It was just his English name for a silly project we did in middle school. This is so embarrassing, all I can picture is a twelve-year-old Jungkook mortified from sexual harassment. I basically sent him nudes!”

“Tasteful nudes.”

“I’m gonna die.”

“He’s gonna die, of happiness.”

Jeon Jungkook was a classmate from elementary through middle school. Time and time again was he the object of your affections, from the first grade at the roller rink to the speech he made at graduation. But really, who cares? You’re old and have a job, and it’s not like you’ve communicated with any of your former classmates.

Your horror amplifies when the Delivered receipt is changed to Read 3:41AM.

“Fuck! Fuck me with a fuckin’ fuck nugget he saw it!” you cry, “does he still have my number? What if he deleted my contact, would that be even weirder?”

“Girl, stop.” Johnny sighs, and you can already picture him running his thumb between his brows. “This doesn’t change anything, alright? You two don’t know each other anymore. Block his number and go to sleep.”

Johnny leaves you alone after that, and you’re left alone to mull over the implications of sending Jeon Jungkook your nude photoshoot.

You do block his number, knowing that waiting for a reply would drive you nuts. The one thing that you do which is possibly worse, is look him up on Instagram.

Of course, he’s stupid hot.

He doesn’t seem to like being on the receiving end of the camera however, in favor of his timeline being filled with romantic shots of the beach and city. In between the picturesque views and watercolor sunsets do you see glimpses of him and his current life. You can’t help but smile when you see him with his brother and parents during his college graduation, easily towering over all of them. He looks tall with fluffy cocoa hair, big pearly whites gleaming proudly at the camera. He grew up well.

To torture yourself even more, you even look through his story. Twelve hours ago, he was at the gym lifting weights. Normally, you’d be disgusted by people trying to show off their grunt faces drenched in sweat, but of course Jungkook has to have on a silly smile and pump his fist up after he deadlifts. The sweat clinging to his shirt is also a high plus. His gorgeous display of abs has your hands fluttering over your own belly. Maybe you need to exercise more.

Four hours ago, you see him and a pretty woman with their cheeks squished together, using the puppy filter. Of course he has a girlfriend.

Reluctant, you open up your Google Drive and scroll through your photoshoot. Deflated, you frown at the pictures that once made you beam with pride, picking at every little detail that bothered you. You really can’t believe you sent these to Jeon Jungkook, no longer a fourth grader with one front tooth, but a man way out of your league.

By the time you will yourself to sleep, the sun peeks from the horizon, telling you to move on.

“Hey Gyu,” you tiptoe over to the table much too small for Mingyu’s frame. The string bean is slumped over his iPad pro, drawing intently at some chibi OCs. “Got a plot for that one?” you ask, pointing at the little pink and blue creature decorating the screen.

Mingyu grunts in reply, obviously engrossed. It isn’t until you slide him a matcha frappe from Starbucks that he becomes intelligible, muttering a “thank you” as he blends with his pen.

Sensing that it’s going to be awhile before you get through to him, you take your usual rounds around the front desk and lobby of the cosy photo studio. There’s pretty pictures of Mingyu’s work, along with the other employees Minghao and Hoseok. Each section of the wall features a different taste of each person’s interest. Mingyu is a divine lover of soft bed sheets and hot tea, many of his photographs and paintings featuring cafes or perfectly messy beds you’ve seen on hotel advertisements. Minghao is a tasteful artisan, splotches of color retaliating against neutral backgrounds. Finally, Hoseok manages to find balance in the people, large cityscapes telling both large and small stories.

“Alright,” Mingyu’s deep voice forces you to curl your head, where he’s sipping at his drink with haste. “What’cha here for?”

You frown, “Don’t you remember? I told you last week I’d be stopping by to get my photos developed,” you gesture to the Pentax in your hands, an heirloom from your great-aunt. While you did take digital photos for sending them to Johnny, the ones you wanted developed were taken side-by-side with the film camera. You figured that film would give a little more authenticity to your photoshoot.

“Shit, that’s today?” the camera falls like deadweight, slapping against your sweater as you watch Mingyu frantically look through his digital calendar. He looks at you, dejected. “How many prints?”

“I don’t know, maybe like six. Or eight?”

“That’s gonna take too long, I’m heading down to Hidden Grounds for a vision meeting at two.”

“Alright, I’m free all day. What about after?”

“Nah, you came all this way. I can just let the new guy help you.” and Mingyu makes a show of cupping his hands in the direction of the open hallway, “Yah, Jeon Jungkook! Get your cute ass out here!”

The Pentax around your neck suddenly feels like weight akin to a two-ton boulder, and you surge forward, not caring that the corner of the table is digging into your belly. “Mingyu,” you garble, and Mingyu is shell-shocked by the desperation in your eyes. “Isn’t Minghao around or something? Or I can come back another time? These photos are really personal and I don’t feel comfortable having a stranger see them.”

“What? We’re professionals, don’t belittle us.”

“No, seriously,” you whine, you tug at the collar of his denim jacket, noses practically touching. “These pictures are different. My tits are out and my legs are spread—”

“—interrupting something?”

You hear some shuffling, and you turn around to see Jeon Jungkook’s back, comically turned to face the entrance.

And damn, he did have a cute ass. Nothing is going to hide the glory in those jeans, absolutely nothing.

“Hilarious,” Mingyu drawls, and you push him away. “Forget it, Kook. She doesn’t feel comfortable letting a stranger develop her photos.”

Sensing that it’s safe to turn around, you watch as his black bangs flutter as he faces you. You hope your body language doesn’t betray how you’re really feeling, because you are a mere mortal and you’re weak in the presence of god-like figures.

“Oh, what a relief then,” he smiles at you, and his voice sounds like honey. If there was malice or surprise in his tone, his good-natured expression betrays it. “Because I’ve known this friend since elementary school. We go way back.”

You ignore the burn in the back of your head, as you are positive Mingyu knows you’re hiding something.

“Really, what a coincidence.” Mingyu replies carefully, and you feel utterly stuck between these men and their banter, locked up like cream in an Oreo cookie.

Nothing argues against Jungkook as he easily weaves through the thick wave of awkwardness, hands reaching out to touch your camera. “Wow,” he marvels, holding the object in his hands, “my dad has one of these.”

“A-ha,” you take a step back, only to bump into the corner of the table, again. Ouch. “It’s okay, Jungkook. I’m actually busy today so I can come when Mingyu’s free–”

“Oh, I thought you were free all day,” Mingyu drawls, looking up through his lashes as he sips languidly at his drink.

“Don’t worry about it,” Jungkook says good-naturedly, as if Mingyu just didn’t out you. “We got a lot of catching up to do anyway, c’mon.”

Jungkook moves to place a hand in the small of your back and that’s enough to get you to rev up. Refusing to let any contact get between the two of you, you zip ahead down the familiar hallway, turning your head to catch Mingyu grinning with all canines, shooing you with his fingers like a puppy.

You send Mingyu a stream of “fuck yous” into his inbox for later, unwilling to settle with this curse. Busying yourself with your phone, you avoid eye contact with Jungkook until you reach the dark room. The red light turned off at the top of the doorhenge signals that the room is not in use. Jungkook makes a move to open the door and that’s when you pounce, blocking the doorway with your small body. It’s comical, really.

Jungkook raises a brow at you, but says nothing.

“I really can wait, Jungkook,” you steel yourself, forcing a sympathetic smile. “I’m sure your girlfriend wouldn’t like you developing my pictures—”

It’s then that his pretty cupid’s bow unfurls into a full-fledged grin. “Girlfriend... you’ve been keeping tabs on me?”

“Fuck, well I had to!” your face is as red as the dark room’s alert light, now on because Jungkook flicked the switch and he’s between your arm to unlock the door. Your hand brushes his as you both reach the knob. “I’m really really sorry I sent those pictures. They were for Johnny—you remember Johnny Suh from English class? And I saved you in my contacts as “John Kook” so it was an honest mess up.”

Jungkook hums, so light that the breathiness in his chords flutters your grip on the knob. He forces the door ajar, and you’re left to follow him in the dark room, cluttered with solutions and fancy equipment.

“Thought so,” Jungkook shrugged, giving a one-over at the materials in the room, mulling over his next steps in developing your film.

You’re still petrified at the doorway, holding your Pentax between both hands like a lifeline. Jungkook’s head lols to you, and you get a pretty view of the way his bangs brush over his forehead, Adam’s Apple bobbing. His expression is a little tired, but overall unreadable. He sighs your name, lethargic.

“We’re already here, so might as well get this done,” he gestures to the camera in your vice grip. “Do you wanna pick the shots or do you want me to?”

He’s already seen the digitals, what’s so different about getting a couple prints? With a slight pout you drag your feet over to him, relinquishing your camera. “I’m thinking you have a better eye for this than I do.”

“You think right.”

You fight the urge to roll your eyes. Cocky, but what you’ve seen on Instagram definitely justifies his sentiment. Jungkook pays no mind to you, busying his hands with the various containers in front of him, measuring the solutions for the developer, stopper, and fixer. You were always entranced by the process of developing film, especially in highschool where their photography club holed themselves in the darkroom like a secret lair.

“Alright,” he pops open the canister, carefully laying out sections of the film in groups of four. “Want me to pick a random one for a tester?”

You frown, “At least put some thought into it.”

“Always,” it looks like he already decided way before he popped the question, immediately taking a negative and placing it in the carrier.

His fingers are nimble as he takes the time to clean off the dust and any debris that could potentially ruin the image. Then he turns off the lights and begins the process. You dive around him, trying to keep your distance but still too curious to leave his side. If he’s annoyed he fails to show it, in favor of humming whatever song comes from his Echo Dot.

You always got the solos in choir. You wanted to reminisce, but you’re too nervous to say it out loud.

Even though it’s his job and he’s being a professional, you romanticize the experience, watching as he carefully puts the print in each liquid process. Your image blooms to life, and you feel your stomach churn as the photo develops before your eyes.

After a final dip in the solution stopper, he places the first product in a bath of water. Even though you are mere centimeters away, you can clearly see the image of you swimming around the container.

“Alright!” Jungkook hangs the finished picture on a pastel pink clothespin, tacking it in place. “Whaddya think?”

Your breath catches in your throat, feeling heavy as you look at the image of you reflected in the glossy paper. You’re perched on your bed, a hand splaying between your legs as the other hand toys with the silk bunny ears. You’re leaned slightly, giving an ample view of your cleavage. However, the image of you is definitely different from being blown up in comparison to the negatives, and you squirm uncomfortably at your full display.

“I look,” you bite your tongue, internally debating whether you like it or not. Not to spare Jungkook the theatrics you shrug, “It’s good.”

The lack of enthusiasm seems to dissatisfy Jungkook however, as he has to take a double take and look back and forth between the image and the real thing. “What’s wrong with it, do you think Johnny’ll not like it?”

“What?” you furrow your brows, breaking into a nervous laugh. “Johnny has a boyfriend. I just wanted his opinion. This photoshoot is for me, y’know? Just something to make me feel good about myself.”

Jungkook’s lips morph into a little ‘o’, and you see a little bit of the child you once knew in the way he’s mulling over the situation.

“Then can I give you my honest opinion?” Jungkook clips off the half-dried photo, holding it between you two. “Stop thinking so hard about every little thing you don’t like about yourself. If I was your boyfriend and you gifted this to me, I’d be creaming my pants. You look fucking sexy, all grown up since you cried in the fourth grade.”

You’ve just been flung a litany of words you have no brain capacity to digest. Along with that, the immense heat you didn’t know you’ve been suppressing surges to your belly, low and simmering. Jungkook stares at you in earnest, despite his sudden gush of honesty, you don’t know what to say. There’s a dash of pink staining his cheeks, betraying the confidence he previously displayed. He stiffens when you don’t reply immediately and moves to clean his materials, his sudden bout of bold honesty quickly shrinking.

“Y-you know,” you look down at your feet, “the only reason why I cried in the fourth grade was because you told me Santa wasn’t real.”

Jungkook softens, tilting his head. “Sorry about that.”

“Thanks though,” you gently reach for the photo in Jungkook’s grasp, looking at it without contempt. “But won’t your girlfriend be upset if she knew you were saying things like this about someone else?”

He chuckles, shaking his head. “Well, if you looked through the rest of my Instagram story,” Jungkooks cards a hand through his already mussed hair, splitting the ends. “You would see that she’s not my girlfriend, but my tattoo artist.”

For added measure, he wiggles his fingers in front of you, revealing pretty ink and silver bands across his knuckles.

“Oh,” your voice is feather light, and you’re sure you’re drooling as you stare far too long at the letters that mark his hands, curious as to what they symbolize.

“So, as a singleton telling another singleton,” he continues, “I know it’s meaningless if you don’t believe it yourself, but I’m telling you, you’re attractive.”

“Thanks,” you hold the picture tightly in your grasp, eyes flickering to the negatives in the room ready to be galvanized into a full-fledged picture. “Why don’t we wrap this up, huh? We can continue another time.”

If he notices how much the paper wilts in your grasp, he doesn’t comment on it. “Are you sure? I know it takes a lot of time, but I don’t mind.”

“I’m sure,” you force a smile, one hand on the lightswitch. “I’ll let you know when I’m ready, okay?”

Jungkook swallows, nodding mechanically. “Okay.”

“It was really nice seeing you, Kook.” you blurt before you could chicken out, letting the room bask in darkness a little longer so he can’t see your flustered state. “I’m not even going to downplay it, you look great.”

You half-expect a cocky remark, or a little chest pumping from the compliment. At the sound of his nickname however, 4th grade Jeon Jungkook resurfaces and he shoves his hands in his pockets. “Like I said, so do you,” he replies easily, sending you a soft smile and opening the door for you.

The door closes shut behind you and you exhale, patting your cheeks and willing for the chilly air to calm you down.

When you get home that day, you shuck off all your clothes and crawl into bed. You cry out when the metal framing of your bunny ears stabs you in the back, and you fling it to some unmentionable part of the room. You reach for a bag of half-opened sour gummy worms, flipping open your MacBook to continue streaming the soft magical girl anime you’ve been hooked on these past few weeks.

Not even Sailor Uranus can distract you; however, by the time it’s dark and you’ve run out of distractions, you finally pull the plug and unblock Jungkook from your list of contacts.

Your phone buzzes, the incessant vibration relaying all the messages you’ve missed.

[March 12th, 3:53AM]

You: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/0343…

John Kook: ???

John Kook: you probably sent this to me by accident… sorry i clicked on it

John Kook: is it weird if i said you’ve done a massive glow up since the middle school dance?

[March 12th, 12:02 PM]

John Kook: are u mad

John Kook: you’re mad

John Kook: am i makin this weird by continuing to text you

John Kook: im making it weird.

[March 31st, 6:24 PM]

John Kook: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/049…

You tilt your head at the folder link, it was sent only a few hours ago. With a click, you’re enlightened to a set of digital photos. Your photos from your photoshoot, but not quite. They’ve been expertly edited, not too much to distort your looks, but only to enhance your features. A small, barely there smile creeps from your subconscious, ultimately touched by the gesture.

John Kook: sorry if i pushed too hard today.

Guilt overrides your nerves, prompting you to immediately press the call button on his contact. Not to your surprise, Jungkook’s light voice calls your name through the line after the second ring.

“Don’t be sorry,” you blurt, forgoing the hellos. “It was the right amount of push, I feel better, really. If anything, I’m sorry. I blocked your number because I was scared to read your reaction.”

You hear him sigh along the line, and you feel that breath ripple through your nerves, as if he’s right next to you. “It’s fine, I would’ve done the same thing.”

“The pictures you just sent, they’re really beautiful. You did a good job.”

“Thanks, I had a bit of help. I didn’t have to do much.”

“Oh, did Mingyu come back from his meeting?”

"No, I uh," Jungkook chuckles, and while you don't really know why, the sound is nonetheless pleasant. “It was mostly the lighting and coloring I fixed up. Didn’t need to do much since you already looked so pretty as it is.”

You choke on your saliva.

“You okay?”

“Y-yeah,” you cough, “just choked on a snack I was eating.” he hums in reply, and you pray he doesn’t hear your stomach fervently retort that you haven’t eaten since lunch. “So, I think I’m up for developing more of the film. When can I drop by?”

“I’m free Saturday,” Jungkook chirps, “I have a shoot until noon but you can come anytime after that.”

“Sounds good, I’ll be there,” you clutch the phone with both hands. “I can bring lunch. What do you like to eat?”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that.”

“I’m already buying for Minghao,” you lie, “do you like burgers?”

“I can’t say no to a good burger,” Jungkook’s smile feels almost palpable against the line, “do you remember our field trip to the national museum of history? We had burgers on the street!”

“Oh, those were so good,” you moan, fuzzy memories of a middle grade field trip resurfacing to clarity, “but you ate like, ten of them!”

“I still get nightmares,” he warns, “don’t let me go to bed like this.”

You giggle, letting your body meld further into your warm mattress. “Maybe I’ll just show up with ten burgers for you tomorrow.”

“I’ll throw up on you, try me.”

Minghao’s adjusting the frames on their display wall by the centimeter, and it’s pissing him off.

“Ah, it’s off,” he mutters to himself when you walk in, indicated by the electronic bell. He turns to you briefly, pulling a leveler out of his overall pocket. “Doesn’t this look off?”

“Uh,” you look towards Mingyu at the front desk, who is paying no mind as he continues scribbling on his iPad. You tilt your head towards your former college classmate. “It doesn’t look off from over here?”

Tacking the leveler on one of the frames, he whines, “It’s five degrees off.”

Mingyu puts his pen down to reach over the counter and grab the paper from your hands, steaming with the scent of fast food, “He’s been like this for hours, don’t mind him.”

He doesn’t even ask whether the food is his, Mingyu sees grease and he claims. Reaching for an oil-wrapped parchment, he unfolds the paper to reveal a handsome burger with all the fix-ens.

Barely satisfied, Minghao steps away from the art display. There is a sizable gap in the display, now divided between four artists instead of three. You wonder how Jungkook’s work will look amongst the other artists.

“Cute ‘fit.” Minghao mumbles, nodding approvingly at your clothes as he digs into the bag for his own burger.

You send a half-smile his way. If an outfit is Minghao-approved, that means you’ve gone above and beyond. At least, you tried to play it off like you didn’t try to look cute. It’s not like you’re intimidated by Jungkook, living with a major fifteen-year glow up. After all, he’s already seen more than you can imagine.

Mingyu takes notice, eyes going south to where your white blouse meets your cleavage. You hurl a fry at his face, “Eyes up here, perv.”

He scrunches his nose, lifting a greasy thumb to slide a manila envelope over to you. “Here’s the developed pictures. Intercepted Kook and I finished them this morning.”

You frown, “Jungkook’s not done with his photoshoot yet?”

“Oh, he’s been done.” Mingyu’s eyes roll back to one of the studios. “But I’m saying is, you got what you needed. So you can leave if you want,” but he grins at you, canines so sharp you feel his stare jabbing you in the proverbial neck. “Unlesssss you want to go in and say hi.”

If he has any inkling of what’s going on in your head, it’s definitely confirmed when your face turns hot. Damn body, you’re betraying me! With a flourish you grab the fries from under Mingyu’s nose, along with whatever’s left in the fast food bag.

Minghao’s smiling through his burger, knowing if he pulls any type of savagery his lunch would certainly be pulled from under his chin.

“Whatever you’re thinking, drop it or the burger will be going in your ass instead of out.” You mean to sound menacing, but the Min-squared and their boisterous laughter follow you down the hallway and into the occupied studio.

“Hey Jungkoo—wow.”

You’re sure you look like Alice, enthralled by the little wonderland she just stepped into. The set is beautiful, right out of a fairytale. It has a very old-romance vibe, like Morticia and Gomez Addams. There lay a couch made of the darkest, richest wood, with velvet red cushions covering the body. Across the floor laid hundreds of black rose petals, blanketing the floor in a sea of ebony.

“It’s for a wedding, gothic themed.” Jungkook supplies helpfully, still fiddling with whatever he was looking on his digital camera. He’s looking utterly soft in a matching grey sweat combination, something that would easily disgust you during high school, but unfairly works with him.

“The shoot must’ve been beautiful.”

“It was.”

“I uh, got this for you.” Your fingers start to sweat from clutching the bag so hard, and you place it on his work table.

He finally looks up from his camera, giving you a wan smile. “I thought you got those for Minghao.”

You mentally slap your cheeks, trying to ignore the way his smile made your stomach do somersaults. “He got his own. Your portion has a cookie in it, so.”

His cute teeth unveil themselves at the mention of sweets, and you can’t help but smile back at the familiarity.

The two of you take your time in enjoying your lunch, not meaning to stay but the very back of your mind hoping he’d like to share a meal with you. After all, Mingyu and Minghao are probably at the front relishing in your very obvious attraction. What can you say, first crushes never die.

Between sips of your milkshake, you’ve taken to flipping through Jungkook’s portfolio. There’s a myriad of different subjects: beaches, people, the occasional squirrel. Each section of the portfolio feels like you’re being transported to a new side of Jungkook and his artistry, and you ached to know more.

“Wow,” you point at an action shot of two girls in a dance studio, “this duo looks like Chungha and Hyoyeon.”

He swallows his (second) burger, having the audacity to sink sheepishly in his sweater. “It is Chungha and Hyoyeon.”

You nearly choke on your cookie. “That’s amazing.” you say breathlessly, looking closer at the image. In fact, the beautiful women photographed are famed hip-hop choreographers Chungha and Hyoyeon. You can’t imagine how good Jungkook must be to manage a photoshoot with them.

As proud as you are of Jungkook, it reminds you that since middle school you two have lived completely different lives. You wonder if Jungkook gets these kinds of gigs all the time, hanging around with gorgeous, talented people like himself.

Jungkook says your name once, twice. He looks at you concerned, and you’re melting in his large carmine eyes. If he notices your usual overthinking, he doesn’t say anything, and gestures to the section at the end of his portfolio. “This isn’t my best work, but it’s one of my favorites.”

There’s something familiar about this set. A playground with a busted swing set. Children riding on bikes and colorful class shirts. Ice cream melting on fists.

Thirteen-year-old you hanging on top of your middle school’s leafless tree, clutching your baseball cap as you shade yourself from the sunset.

“Was this the first time you took pictures?” you ask, thumbing the picture of yourself.

“Yeah. It’s when I decided it’s what I wanted to do the rest of my life.”

“I know we didn’t know each other that well and we’ve only recently connected but,” you give him a shy smile, “I’m really proud of what you’ve grown up to be, Jungkook.”

He looks like you’ve hung him the moon and stars, his half-eaten burger loosening in his grasp. His lips are parted cutely, like a kitten who’s just been offered a fresh glass of milk. You cough at the sudden pause in conversation, feeling self-conscious of your impulse confession. You don’t even have it in you to be disgusted when Jungkook hastily shoves the second half of his burger down his throat, tips of his ears pink.

Leaving him be, you press a palm to your cheek, looking at the wedding set.

Jungkook downs half a water bottle before he speaks again. “Y’know, it would be a shame to clean up this set already. It was kind of expensive.”

“Yeah,” you echo, standing up and kicking off your slippers. You kick your feet in the air, watching the black petals kiss across your ankles.

“I have an idea,” he wipes his hands on his sweats, “why don’t you go back home and get an outfit you really like. Lingerie, a cute outfit, whatever. Let me give you a photoshoot you’d love.”

You look up from your petal dance, balking. “Jungkook! That’s not necessary, I told you the photos I took were okay.”

“Yeah but, you didn’t seem entirely happy. C’mon, I got a camera and a beautiful set. Why waste it?” his hands naturally gravitate towards his charging camera, already turning it on. “I can do lighting, I know all your good angles. What’s stopping us?”

Really, what’s stopping you? Your hands fiddle with your open flannel, the soft material comforting you as you look across the set. You try to imagine yourself, your body draped across the velvet pillows and black petals. Would it look good? Would you feel good? You think back to how you felt the first time, how scared you were when someone other than Johnny would be looking at your photos. You remember how something weird and sour contorted in your stomach when you scrolled through Jeon Jungkook’s Instagram, no longer the little boy you knew but a man who could have everything he wanted—

“Stop thinking about it.” Jungkook suddenly snaps, and you break from your reverie to catch him looking upset. It’s been awhile since you’ve seen him like that.

“Thinking about what?”

“Thinking that you’re out of my league.”

“Excuse me?”

“You were like this the other day too,” and he looks sad, and puts his camera down to come closer to you. “Why are you feeling this way. Is it me?”

“Not necessarily,” you huff, hugging yourself.

“Do you not feel beautiful? Do you not like your body?”

“No, I do.” you say to yourself, and you mean it. Even though there will inevitably be days where you may not feel one-hundred percent positive about yourself, you know at the end of the day, you love you and all its parts. “I don’t know, Jungkook. I had no problem letting Mingyu develop the photos originally, because he knew me in college and I was already sure of myself back then. But I guess when I sent them to you, I felt like I did when I was a little girl, y’know? Going through puberty, and worrying about what other people think.”

And it’s not like Jungkook teased you or made you feel lesser of yourself. In fact, Jungkook was the student you wanted to be when you were younger. Someone sweet and caring, and unabashedly confident about himself.

“I guess seeing you so successful and the fact that my stupid childhood crush came back from a time where I always felt low, made me feel a little insecure again.”

Something sinks in and you feel hyper aware of how crushed Jungkook looks at your declaration. “There’s no leagues, you got that?” he says quietly, walking so close that he’s hovering over you, sneakers brushing. “I get it. I get unsure and insecure just like you. Hell, I was nervous this morning, wondering if you’d really come. We may not feel insecure over the same things, but middle school wasn’t that great for me either.” He makes a funny face, and you feel a smile twitch across your lips. “But it’s okay. Because we’re human and we grow. But now, you are successful. You’ve grown from your time growing up and you’re a wonderful, powerful person. I’m proud of you too.”

“I know,” you mumble, leaning your forehead against his chest. His arms wrap around you in response, holding you snug.

“And for the record, I thought you were the most beautiful person in the world in fourth grade. Even though my world was pretty small back then, I can say now that what I thought back then still stands true.”

You look up from his embrace, where he’s leaning down to press a slow, cotton soft kiss to your forehead. He backs up a little to read your face, and you give a tiny nod in response to signal it’s okay. Jungkook exhales in contentment, relaxing against your frame.

“Thanks, Kook,” you crack a smile, feeling your insecurities slowly evaporate. You feel better, light, knowing that these negative feelings are only temporary, and you’re not alone. Being in Jungkook’s arms, an honest boy turned man you’ve known all your life, it feels almost like home.

You two stay like this for a while. Exchanging feather-like kisses, feeling irrevocably young and hopeful. Suddenly feeling emboldened, you tug him by the strings of his hoodie to press a long, hot kiss to his lips. There’s a stutter, and you’re pretty sure Jungkook choked on his saliva at the sudden change of pace but you continue, letting Jungkook catch up and follow your lead.

“Wow,” Jungkook pulls away and his lips are shiny and flushed. Adorable. You think 7th grade Jungkook would be rolling in his Naruto sheets if he knew you two would inevitably end up together. Conversely, 7th grade you would be squealing in your kitten plushie, proud that you managed to nab your childhood crush to live out all the fantasies you’ve imagined since the 4th grade.

“Jungkook,” you let your flannel fall to the floor in a heap, only leaving your baby blue top in a thin ruched camisole. “I think I want to do the photoshoot. Can’t pass up these pretty petals, y’know?”

He runs a hand through his hair, gaping. “Really?”

“Yeah,” you press a wet kiss to his neck, “anyway you want me, baby. Full creative control. I want you to like this as much as I do, okay?”

With the permission to hold the wheel, Jungkook’s lightheaded and spinning. His eyes rake up and down your gorgeous form, wondering how many good deeds he’s done in his past life to earn a right just as this.

“In that case,” he presses a palm to your shoulder, pushing you to sit along the velvet cushion, “strip for me.”

#jungkook fic #btsghostiebingo #goldenclosetnet #jungkook fluff #jungkook smut #bts fic #bts scenarios #jungkook scenarios #jungkook x reader

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holylulusworld · 3 years

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Disobedient

Request: A/B/O dynamic, where omega! reader just agrees to everything her Alpha (Bucky) says, no matter how embarrassing or humiliating it is. Arranged marriage set up. Please.... Huge fan of your angsts. (He's embarrassing her on perpose, because he just doesn't like her at all. But omega! reader is just so docile and just won't talk back cuz she's raised like that. I think AU would be better, but I'll let you decide that. Happy ending. You are great. Thank you so much.)

Pairing: Alpha!Mobster!Bucky x Omega!(fem) Reader; Alpha!Sam Wilson x Omega!(fem) Reader

Characters: Alpha!Steve x Omega!Peggy, Bruce Banner, George Barnes

Warnings: angst, past abusive relationship, arranged marriage, shitty parents, mentions of divorce and breaking a bond, Sam, and Steve being good alphas, comforting, fluff, language, abusive childhood (mentioned)

A/N: This one took me ages as it was out of my comfort zone to write Bucky as an abusive alpha. Even though the requester wanted a happy ending with Bucky, I just couldn't write the story that way. Sorry.

Divider by @writeyourmindaway

Part 1 - Obedient

Around five months later...

“Omega,” Bucky whines, looking at you. He can still see the scars he created with his hands, teeth, and anything he could find all over your body. “I’m so sorry, doll.”

The silence in Steve and Peggy’s guest room is the worst thing Bucky ever experienced; except for the way his friends look at him now. “I promise to do anything to make you feel safe with me. I love you, Y/N.”

“You don’t love me, Mr. Barnes,” your voice cold, gaze unwavering you look up at Bucky. “What you feel is guilt – not as you believe what you did to me was wrong but as your wrongdoings almost killed me.” you shudder when Bucky tries to touch your cheek.

“Why did you never fight me? Why did you simply accept the way I treated you, doll? I asked myself these questions again and again over the last weeks,” Bucky sighs deeply when you slowly get up to look out of the window, ignoring your husband and mate once again.

“My father, he’s a cruel man. Omegas mean nothing but business to him. My mother, my sister, my niece. We are nothing but meat to get sold to the right customer,” you huff. “I got trained to obey. Disobedience meant punishment,” tears spill out of your eyes at the memory of your father’s punishments.

“I’m sorry…”

“Do you know how it felt to present at a rather young age and to realize that your father never loved you? That the world you once knew was nothing but a lie,” sniffling you watch Steve’s dog run after a bird.

You fall silent for a moment, barely realizing Bucky stepped closer. Sorting your thoughts you close your eyes.

“What happened back then, Y/N?” you don’t believe Bucky wants to know what happened but to move on, to leave the life with your father and a husband who never wanted you behind, you need to face your past one last time.

“Why do you want to know about my past? You weren’t interested in me in the present. I bore your behavior thanks to my father’s training. He made me that way,” voice bitter you look over your shoulder. “Any other omega would’ve despaired hearing you moan that woman’s name whilst you used her body.”

“I never saw it from your side, Y/N,” not caring about the sadness in Bucky’s eyes you turn back around. You cross your arms over your chest, looking out of the window again.

“There are ways to end this marriage and our bond,” Bucky panics when you turn around, looking him straight into the eyes. “I kept my promise ‘till death do us apart’, Mr. Barnes. As my heart stopped beating for a few seconds, our marriage can easily be broken, just like our biological bond. Bruce, I mean Dr. Banner told me there are ways to break our bond.”

“You will try to break our bond?” stammering Bucky steps backward. His eyes widen as the realization hits him. “Y/N, you want to leave me?”

“No, I will not try to break our bond – I will break our bond at all cost,” your voice raises and for the first time, Bucky can see the fire in your eyes. “I will rather die than let anyone walk all over me again. Look at Steve and Peggy, they have a bond I always dreamed off. Steve respects his omega.”

“I can give you this too, omega,” Bucky tries to touch your arm, but you slap his hand away. Dr. Maximoff helped you to find the ‘real’ you hidden behind a wall of fear and obedience. She made you see that you are not as broken as you believed you are. “I will do anything.”

“Stop lying,” you scream at the top of your lungs. “You don’t want me, and you don’t love me. All you want is Dot and to bond with her. Let me break our bond or help me breaking it and we both can have a good life.”

“Dot, I’m not sure she still wants me,” grumbling Bucky tries to win you over but there is something in your eyes telling him you’ll never come back to him. “We can try to get happy. Maybe we can find a way?”

“No.” your answer is final. There is no way you’ll ever forgive your father or Bucky for what they did to you. “You wanted to know about my father’s punishment? I’ll tell you a few things. I was fourteen when I presented. I was so young and didn’t know what happened to me. I was confused and asked my father for advice. He slapped my face as I forgot to address him correctly.”

“You didn’t call him alpha,” nodding you give Bucky a sad smile. “Before you presented this didn’t mean anything but the moment you became omega, the hierarchy changed for you.”

“See, that’s what I meant, James. Alphas only see their side. I was a fourteen years old child, James. I didn’t think much of it when I called my father ‘dad’ like I did all my life. His solution was to hurt me instead of telling me all the things I should know about being omega.”

“What do you want me to do? I got raised to become the next leader of my father’s empire. No one asked me what I want to become. I dreamed of a simple life, not being a tool for my father. He forced me into this marriage and a bond I never wanted. I know it’s no excuse, but I never had a chance either,” Bucky plays with his wedding band, glancing at the golden ring around his finger.

“Says the abusive man,” there is no way you’ll let Bucky get away with all the things he did to you. “Hurting me was never part of your father’s plan. We could’ve tried to make the best out of a bad situation. It was you, all of it. Don’t blame your shitty father for your mistakes.” you poke your finger into Bucky’s chest. There is a smirk on your lips when you see the shock on his features.

“She’s right, and you know it,” Sam steps inside the room, not missing Bucky’s angry expression. “Steve said I shall give you an hour, the hour is over, Bucky. You will not find a solution today. I must ask you to go now.”

“She’s still my wife, Wilson,” the alpha grits out. Sam takes a step toward you, ignoring his friend’s angry eyes or the fact Bucky’s hands ball into fists. “I will stay as long as I want to.”

“No, you won’t, my friend. This is still my house and Y/N is done talking to you. She wants Dr. Banner to help her with the papers to break your bond. Peggy will help to file for divorce. This is your final warning, Bucky,” Steve leans in the doorframe, eyes trained on his friend. “It’s over, Buck.”

“I can’t, Stevie. Do you have the slightest idea what Y/N’s and my father will do? They forced us into this marriage for a reason. Even if we file for divorce, they will not give in,” Bucky looks at you, sighing deeply.

“Y/N Barnes was dead for ten seconds and a half,” Bruce steps into the room to stop the alphas from attacking each other. “Law is on our side, Bucky.”

“You don’t get it, Banner!” Bucky spats. “My father gives a shit on law or feelings. He doesn’t care I love Dot and that Y/N deserves better than me. As long as she has my mark on her neck, he’ll not give in.”

“Good thing she will not have it much longer,” Sam interjects. He flanks your side, itching to sling his arm around your shoulders to make you feel safe as so often over the last months. “There are many other alphas out there who will appreciate Y/N and protect her at all cost.”

One week later…

“I prepared the papers, Y/N,” Peggy points toward a manila folder, smiling coyly. “I know this must be though but, Bruce said it’s necessary to file for divorce before you break the bond.”

Glancing at the daisies Sam gave you this morning you smile. He’s the first alpha you feel comfortable around. Steve is a great person too but with Sam, it’s different.

“Sam brought me new daisies this morning,” you giggle, something you haven’t done since you were a teen. “I like him. Do you think it’s too soon to go for a dinner date with him?”

“Y/N,” Peggy jumps up to hug you tightly. She has tears in her eyes when you tell her Steve’s friend asked you out. “I’m so happy for you. Sam is a good man, a good alpha. He’ll treat you right.”

“I know but,” glancing at the daisies again you sigh deeply, “Bucky needs to sign the papers and agree to break our bond before Bruce can help me. I don’t know if it’s a good idea to drag Sam into all of this. Sam deserves better.”

“Sam deserves someone who loves him, just like you, Y/N. No one knows Sam Wilson better than me and Steve. I can tell you that he’s enchanted by you,” Peggy squeezes your hand, giving you a soft smile. “He’s a soft teddy bear if you are afraid he could hurt you.”

“No,” shaking your head violently you grasp for Peggy’s hand. “I know Sam is a good man and that he’ll never hurt me, Peggy. I just don’t want Sam to get hurt or worse. Bucky’s father and mine are dangerous men.”

“Bucky agreed to break the bond,” dropping the folder you look at Peggy, bewildered by her words. “Steve, he talked to him over the last days. James regrets all the awful things he did to you and tries to make things up to you.”

Meanwhile at George Barnes’ office…

“I don’t care, father,” Bucky yells. “You don’t know all the things I did to Y/N as you forced me into this marriage. No.” running his hand down his face Bucky grunts. “What I did to Y/N was my fault. This ends today. We will file for divorce, break the bond, and try to find a way to forget about all the shit our fathers did to us.”

“Buck,” Steve tries to calm his angry friend, “you need to calm down. Your father can’t do anything. I am the most powerful man in town now,” smirking Steve steps closer to his friend.

“You will not break your bond with that omega,” George Barnes slams his fist onto the desk. “This is my last word, Steven Grant Rogers!”

“My father didn’t raise a coward, Mr. Barnes. I gave in when I talked to Y/N’s father out of respect and due to the law but,” Steve gets a gun out to place it onto George’s desk, “I will not back down this time. Set Bucky and Y/N free and tell her father to do the same or you’ll feel my wrath!”

Three months later…

Watching the news, you grasp for Sam’s hand. The reporters run after your father and the cops arresting him.

“How did they get to know he sells drugs? I didn’t think he would do such a thing.”

“Steve and Bucky faked the evidence,” Sam brings you into his arms to let you scent him. His warmth surrounds you and for the first time since you presented, you lean into an alpha's touch. “I know you cannot forgive your former mate, but he does everything to protect you.”

“I’m grateful Bucky tries to change his way, but I can’t forget how he treated me to feel better. Maybe one day, I can forgive him, just not now,” smiling Sam watches you snuggle into his chest. “I wish we meet before all of this happened.”

“I wish so too, my daisy,” you giggle at the pet name Sam gave you. “No matter what, I’ll try to be the best alpha for you. I love you, Y/N.”

“I love you too, Sam,” he carefully brushes his lips over yours. “I want you to be my alpha. There is nothing I want more.”

“I promise to make you my omega when you are ready. I want to wear your mark too,” Sam pecks your lips, smiling as you return the kiss eagerly.

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#Disobedient #former bucky x reader #MOBSTER!AU #bucky barnes #sam wilson #sam wilson x reader #alpha!sam wilson x omega!reader #angst #marvel fanfiction #steve x peggy #alpha!bucky x omega!reader #tw: abusive relationship #fluff #mcu fanfiction

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princecharmingmendes · 3 years

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Heart by Heart | Chapter II | Raul Mendes

*secret agent AU*

Y/N and Raul have been friends ever since they could remember. And falling in love with your best friend can be pretty tricky and messy 99% of the times, add that to the fact they're constantly risking their lives side by side on the field since they're both secret agents, and the best team that's ever existed. Perfect recipe for disaster.

Hi, this is the second chapter of this series, you can find the first one here. Please read the warnings on this one, if you don't feel comfortable with the contents listed on the "warnings" section, please read something else, there are a lot of other works on my masterlist and on the "fic rec" hashtag on my blog. Please give me some feedback and I hope you guys like. Happy Reading!

previous chapter | masterpost | next chapter

*Word Count: 5.2K+

*Warnings: cursing, mentions of violence/crimes, migraine due to work stress, Raul teasing the reader endlessly (for me, that’s the most important warning). Please don’t read it if any of this subjects make you uncomfortable, feel free to check my masterlist for other writings.

*Posted: July 8th, 2021.

-*-

A week later things were back to normal.

Sure, the night they came back, after they were checked for any injuries on the med department and were cleared, Raul dragged her back to his apartment claiming he was craving sushi and he was only ordering if she was with him. In reality, that was a way to keeping his head busy with something else so the events of that day would be coped nicely without so much suffering. And one way of doing it was keeping his girl, best friend and partner, at a close distance so he knew she’d be safe and well.

He was extra sweet that night, making sure she had everything she needed, even agreed to put on face masks with her while watching a random movie. And she was really glad to have him near. The thought of him getting her, or worst... it just killed her a bit. But he was safe and he had his arms securely around her, and that was enough to put her on dreamland and having a great night of sleep.

Unfortunately that was not the case for Y/N today.

Ever since Seth was back, he spent most of his time on the med bay to recover, he had to go through surgery and was finally recovering, but ever since he was back, every piece of information he had was being collected, and she was the one responsible to write it down. Most of the info he had was encoded and she was supposed to break it. Y/N’s been working nonstop for the past week, and when she had the opportunity to relax all by herself in her house, she felt restless. The main reason is that the person who had Seth was one of the most wanted man on the planet. Geonoff Reyes was capable of the vilest things without giving a second thought, and he’s been wanted for years now, and apparently Seth had the newest information of his whereabouts and new plans.

And knowing that was enough to put Y/N in restless nights of sleep, when she was even able to drift off. Most of her hours were invested on figuring out whatever she could, and several nights were only the continuation of her job during the day. And yeah, it was reckless and a bit stupid of her to sacrifice so much in a research, but Y/N knew this was a great opportunity and the biggest amount of clues they’ve ever received, she couldn’t let this all go. And she had to work fast, so Geonoff didn’t have enough time to notice some information missing or that someone outside of his limited inner circle so he wouldn’t chance anything. Or even move outside the country again, putting a massive political obstacle on their way.

Y/N should’ve known better than to barely get any sleep in over seven days. She knew better than to barely eat or drink anything other than coffee. She knew and did it anyone. And that’s why she ended up where she was. Seven A.M. sharp on her little office on her company’s Head Quarters with a killing migraine that only got worse under the fluorescent lights. Y/N groaned softly as she basically collided on her office chair, cursing under her breath whoever thought bright white lights was a great idea. She was softly rubbing her temples when she heard a knock on her door, before someone came in without being invited, a delicious smell of coffee coming alongside the intruder. She didn’t need to look up to know Raul would be standing right in front of her desk.

“What?” she grumbled, spinning in her chair to turn on her computer without even sparing a glance at him.

Raul chuckled “good morning to you too, sunshine, I’m not even daring to ask how you are”

Y/N rolled her eyes and wincing at the pain the movement brought her “look, go pester someone else, I’m not in a good day”

“Yeah, that’s easy to see, gremlin, that’s why I brought you this” and a soft thud on her desk made her turn.

Raul was standing in front of her desk as she imagined, wearing his usual black outfit, a long sleeved tight turtleneck, accentuating all the muscles on his arms and back, tucked into a pair of dark grey trousers and Y/N had to hold back all her thoughts that were rather inappropriate to have on your best friend. And she wanted to be mad at how effortlessly beautiful he looked, just standing there, hands supporting his weight on the glass table as he leant forward casually to pick at her computer. He looked like a fucking runaway model at seven in the morning, his citric scent leaving her slightly intoxicated, but she knew he didn’t do it on purpose, he was just naturally hot.

She than darted her eyes from his body quickly to not seem as if she was ogling him, which she totally was, only to be met with a steaming cup of black coffee. She rolled her eyes on the little attempts of black hearts he drew with a sharpie alongside a poorly written ‘secret admirer’ on the disposable cup. Y/N shook her head huffing a laugh as she took it.

“Aren’t you supposed to thank me?”

Y/N arched her brow at him “what for, exactly?”

“For being the best friend you’ll ever have?!” he stated as if it was obvious “come on, you look like you need it and I swear I didn’t spike it with anything”

“You’re saying you did out of your own free will? A benevolent act?” Y/N questioned playfully inspecting the cup.

Raul scoffed feigning hurt “Of course, I’m a good guy, practically a gentleman, you gremlin, how dare you think any different?” Behind all the teasing in his voice, she could see the worry evident in his golden eyes. Raul didn’t know all the details about what she was digging into since that were her boss’s order, but he knew enough to know she was probably overworking herself and getting a bit anxious. He knew her better than anyone and there were barely any secrets between them.

“Fine” Y/N sighed taking a sip from the coffee, and it was precisely what she liked “thank you for being a decent human being once in your lifetime”

“You are very welcome, so any news?” he asked pointing to the screens of her computer.

“Not really, I guess I was too tired to do much last night” she said opening all the images she had collected over the past week on her five computer screens “you know basically all the important stuff I gathered, I’m also monitoring the surveillance cameras on the places he might be, trying to get a glimpse of him, but till now nothing, only this car that’s been parked here for five days now”

“Weird”

Y/N giggled to herself before closing everything again “yeah, I know”

“So, I didn’t exactly came here just for the coffee” Raul said crossing his arms across his chest, standing on his full height, his biceps popping against the fabric of his shirt.

“Of course not, I was just waiting for you order, cap” she said as she reached into her purse for a painkiller.

His signature smirk appeared as he beamed down at her “Don’t tempt me, doll”

“What is it then?” she asked and before Raul could reply, someone knocked on her door.

“Come in” he managed to say before her and soon enough Raul’s copy stuck his head inside.

“Oh hi guys” Peter said before fully walking in and closing the door behind him “Am I interrupting something?”

“No, what do you need?” Y/N said turning to face him completely.

Seeing Peter right beside Raul just made them look a lot more different. Sure, they were triplets, but they had completely opposite personalities. While Raul looked like a super model bad boy out of every romcom, Peter looked soft and gentle. He was just as handsome, his hair a bit more messy and a pair of glasses perched on his nose, adding to the soft features. He also wore light washed jeans and a very soft looking button up, a permanent blush on his cheeks. And despite the 6’3 and big muscles, he was almost like a walking teddy bear with a golden heart, specially if you got to know him.

“I actually have some stuff for you two to test on my lab downstairs, and I thought since I was already here I could call you two to join me”

“Oh of course” Y/N said jumping to her feet and cursing under her breath, momentarily having forgotten the excruciating migraine she was still having “now right?”

“Yeah, but only if you can”

“Sure, come on, Raul” Y/N said grabbing her cup of coffee before walking to the door.

Raul chuckled lowly before following her and his brother to the elevator “whatever you say, boss”

“Don’t give me any ideas” she mumbled before pressing the button, but as soon as the doors opened, Y/N regretted getting out of her office.

Standing on the elevator was Daphne. Daphne was one breathtakingly gorgeous woman. With bright green eyes and golden soft model like waves, always dressed nicely and with paper white teeth, and to top that, she was a great agent. But she clearly had a crush on Raul and she’s been hitting on him for a while now, but he didn’t seem to care much, which made no sense at all. And for some reason she wasn’t as friendly towards Y/N, Daphne was never directly rude, but she always made sure to look her up and down and was never her friendly self. And Y/N wasn’t one to push anyone to like her, it just made situations like this a bit more awkward.

“Oh hello” Daphne said with a warm smile.

“Morning” Raul responded as he climbed in the elevator.

Y/N mumbled a quick “hi” before moving to the back of it with Peter.

Daphne turned towards Raul and gently placed her hand on his bicep “I heard about the little incident on your latest mission, are you alright?”

“Oh yeah, not even a single scratch”

“That’s great, I mean, how did it happen again? Was it a failure on the planning or watching?” she asked and Y/N almost spat the coffee she was drinking, seeing Peter send a look her way.

“It was my fault actually, the team handed it pretty well” Raul replied unceremoniously.

“Oh, I see” she said pulling her hand from his arm and nervously placing a strand of loose hair behind her ear “hm, actually there was something I wanted to ask you”

God, how long could this elevator take to arrive on the last floor.

Raul only hummed in response, turning his face to the side to watch her so Daphne proceeded “Hm, there’s this new place that opened this weekend down the street and apparently the sandwiches there are amazing, me and a few other agents were planning to have lunch there today, and I was wondering if you’d like to join”

With that he truly seemed taken aback a bit “oh, I unfortunately can’t today, I’m sorry” with that he turned back to face Y/N “that’s what I wanted to tell you earlier, we have that lunch meeting today, Shawn’s in town and he wanted to invite you to lunch with us and his friends”

“Oh shit, I completely forgot” Y/N whined, her head pounding “I don’t think I can make it today, I’m so sorry”

Raul smiled softly at her “yeah, I figured, if you get any better let me know”

“Oh you’re sick?” Daphne asked turning to her as well.

Y/N shook her head, regretting it immediately “just a bit of a migraine”

“I hope you get better soon” Daphne offered a tight lip smile and Y/N just nodded in response.

“We’re here” Peter said for the first time “Bye, Daphne” he said getting out of the elevator pulling Y/N with him.

“Why are you running? Slow down, you’re gonna pull my arm off” Y/N hushed it as Peter kept on with the fast pace.

“What was that?” he asked in a low tone.

Y/N then came in realization “right?! Why won’t he go out with her?”

“I think he might be just not interested at all, but I wasn’t talking about that, you know Raul can be pretty secretive about his feelings, right?” Peter asked with an archer brow, knowing look on his eyes.

Y/N stepped into his lab alongside him “well yeah”

“I don’t know, I think I saw something there”

“Between me and Raul?!”

Peter leaned against his desk with his arms crossed “Well, more of him towards you, it’s actually something I’ve been noticing for a while”

“What are you even talking about? He’s always been like that with me” Y/N tried avoiding Peter’s gaze, afraid somehow that would give away the little spark of hope on her eyes.

“No, I mean, yes, but I feel like that intensified a bit, just pay attention to it” he said and then looked behind her.

Y/N turned around only to be met with Raul standing at the door “sorry, got a little caught up”

“We noticed, cap, it’s okay, no important details were discussed in your absence” she said teasingly and he just rolled his eyes playfully at her.

“Okay, I upgraded your coms a bit, so switching between channels will be easier” Peter started picking up the little earpieces up “And I also took notes about the appearance of my glasses yeah? Now would you mind approving the design of it, miss fashion icon”

Y/N laughed softly and went to check on the 3D design “thank you, I do take fashion very seriously, I only loose it to your brother”

Raul scoffed “Of course I would be involved in it somehow”

Peter laughed “come on, I need to show you this thing I want to put on your suit, Y/N can you please check the new computer I promised you?”

“Oh my, it’s ready?” She said turning to them, suddenly feeling a lot better.

“It’s on the corner right there, just feel free to explore it and adapt it to how you like it best, and then it’s yours” Peter said with a bright smile on his features as he dragged Raul away.

Y/N sat down on the desk he pouted at, opening the super resistant protective case and being faced with a beautiful tiny computer she could use on future missions. She finished her coffee, feeling the medicine kick in as she dumped the empty cup on the trash, before sitting down in front of her new screen and starting to work on it. Y/N lost track of time as she explored the new configurations, installed the programs she used. She only noticed she’s been there for over two hours when she felt someone carefully placing a gentle hand on her shoulder and she looked up to check the time, being met with Raul standing right beside her.

“Oh, hi” she said feeling her face warming up as he smiled softly at her.

“Don’t spend too much time with this, you’ll have more opportunities later, sweetheart, don’t force yourself too much” he squeezed her shoulder a bit and she sighed nodding “how are you feeling?”

She looked up at him, cracking her back on the process “Better, I think the coffee helps a bit and the painkiller did a great job”

“Good, I’m guessing you still won’t be able to make it to Shawn’s crowded and noisy lunch” Raul had a little amused look in his eyes and Y/N giggled at that, shaking her head.

“Definitely not, might as well skip lunch and nap on my lunch break”

Raul nodded “It’s tempting but you need food, now how about I take you to that salad shop you like, we buy ourselves a quick to go one, eat it at your office and nao for like, forty minutes maybe? How does that sound?”

Y/N contained the urge to lunch forward and wrap him in her arms “Pretty fucking great, but what about Shawn?”

“I’ll meet him later for dinner with Peter, so he wouldn’t mind”

“Oh”

“So, are you in, doll?”

Y/N shook her head “you had me in the forty minute nap, say no more”

Raul laughed “Of course I had, know you better than anyone”

“That is unfortunately true” she mumbled grabbing the computer and getting up.

Raul stared at her quizzically “Why is that unfortunate?”

“Cause that will only feed your ever growing ego”

“You wound me, sweetheart” he said with frightened hurt, a hand clutched over his heart.

Y/N rolled her eyes at him as they both said their goodbyes to Peter, who only threw a knowing look in her direction and a little wink when Raul wasn’t looking. She only rolled her eyes, shoving her middle finger in the air behind Raul’s back to Peter, who only laughed in response. But Raul might have felt her arm hovering his back, cause he looked down at her, throwing his charming smile down at her and throwing his arm around her shoulders as the climbed in the elevator again.

Oh great, now Y/N had one more thing to keep her awake all night, wondering if she was crazy and Raul could be somehow interested in her and if she should do something about it. But do what? Tell him she liked him? Kissing him? Confronting someone who already has a hard time talking feelings about how he felt about her?! Only terrible scenarios played in her head with every little thing she thought about. But before she could go on spiraling, Raul gently squeezed her shoulder making Y/N look up at him.

“Still with me, sweetheart?” he asked smirking at her and she only huffed rolling her eyes, making Raul full on laugh.

-*-

Later that morning, they ended up following Raul’s idea. Around noon he knocked on her office again, with his leather jacket and ready to go, Y/N then just grabbed her coat and purse, ready to follow him to the elevator again. They kept a light banter, talking about conspiracy theories and random gossip, and she felt really better but was too tired to socialize with a lot of people. So they walked down the street a couple of blocks to a little shop where they bought salad bowls and iced tea “to balance things out” according to Raul about how much coffee she’s had the past week.

They ordered to go and walked back to the HQ that looked like a very fancy business building, but instead of going back to her office, they headed to Raul’s instead. There they sat down on his couch since it was bigger as they casually had lunch, and right after, he convinced Y/N to get comfortable on the couch as he relaxed right next to her. Y/N curled into a little ball on the further corner of the couch, but he was quick to tut his tongue at her.

“Here, sweetheart, you can lay your head on my lap and stretch your legs on the couch, yeah? And you can grab that little fluffy blanket if you want” He was quick to offer and Y/N sighed.

“Are you sure?” she asked eyeing him suspiciously “I don’t want to bother you” he chuckled softly and nodded

“Of course, we still have 50 minutes of lunch break, nap a bit, baby, come here” Raul said in such a gentle tone, almost cooing at her and how could she possibly say no to that?

She removed her boots before laying her head on his lap and pulling her legs to stretch across the rest of the couch, while she got comfy, she felt the gentle weight of the thick fluffy blanket being laid on top of her. Y/N sighed in relief as she slowly closed her eyes, allowing herself to fully relax, and feeling the soft caress of Raul’s fingers gently combing through her hair was only making it easier to fall asleep. And so she did.

She dreamed of something random, she was stuck in a boat and it didn’t really make much sense, but it was better than the sleepless nights or the scary things her mind came up with. So waking up was not the best sensation, but Raul managed to make the experience less unpleasant. He was very softly coaxing her to wake up, by gently shaking her shoulder and caressing her cheek, slowly calling her name. Y/N could get used to it.

Raul truly didn’t want to do it, he, himself, didn’t want to get up. He ended up falling asleep a few minutes in, but the timer on his phone vibrating on his hand woke him when he promised he’d wake her up. He almost didn’t have the heart to do it. Y/N looked so peaceful, the frown that’s been on her brows for the whole week was finally gone, but he knew if he didn’t wake her, she’d spend her day blaming herself and wouldn’t be able to sleep properly at night. So he cleared his throat and started calling her gently not to startle her.

Y/N started coming slowly back to her senses, slowly sitting up from Raul’s lap, rubbing at her eyes and checking her phone quickly for important notifications. A low chuckle brought her attention away from her phone and to her best friend beside her, to which she just truly looked at, being able to notice the throw pillow creases on his cheek, the soft curls of his hair a bit messier than usual.

“Hi” he mumbled softly.

Y/N smiled at him before mumbling a “hi” in response.

“Sleep well?” Raul asked as he stretched his arms above his head and she nodded “yeah? I ended up joining you in your nap”

“Don’t blame you, this is a really nice couch”

“Right? Unfortunately this was the first time I took full advantage of it” he chuckled as he got up from the couch, moving to turn on his computer.

Y/N just chuckled before nearly folding his blanket back in its place “well thank you for everything, you truly are a great friend, but I should probably leave and stop bothering you”

“You never bother me, and I know, I’m the best friend anyone could ever wish for” he said sitting on his chair as she leaned down to put her shoes back on.

She just rolled her eyes at him, grabbing her stuff before getting up “there you go, ruining a perfectly sweet moment”

Raul laughed “that’s my biggest ability, doll, thought you knew that already”

“Should’ve guessed it” Y/N said as she opened his door “see you later, thanks again”

Raul just winked at her “anytime” before she closed his door and moved to her office shaking her head, but unable to hold back the smile from blossoming on her lips.

Maybe Peter was wrong and just messing things up, how could he not notice the way Raul affected her? But saw the way he was different with her? It made no sense. And there was no time to go into the rabbit hole, she had better things to do, like spend countless hours uselessly trying to crack a code.

-*-

In the middle of Y/N’s afternoon shift, she was able to spot Geonoff himself on one of the surveillance cameras she’s been watching incessantly for the past weeks. She basically tripped on her on shoes as she scrambled up to her computer to register the appearance, quickly sending it to her boss. They finally were sure where he was and maybe that was enough to set up a plan or something to get him.

Geonoff Reyes was one of the most wanted man right now by intelligences from multiple countries. The man himself had a long list of crimes, that if there was an opportunity would be enough to sentence him for thousands of years. Most of Geonoff’s crimes were related to the mafia, he was one of the biggest and most dangerous bosses there was. He started fairly young, around 15 years old, but that was the extent of information everyone had on his childhood. Some liked to guess it was what kind of household he was raised to blame the way he had become what he became.

He’s been chased for years now, and that’s why Y/N was quick to let her boss, Mrs. Benson, know she found him, compiling all the information she was able to gather this past week in files. So she did what she could and it took her around an hour to have everything printed and organized in a folder, letting Janet she was coming and basically running to the elevator to get to her office.

The heavy metal doors opened on the waiting room outside of her office, being met with Luca, Janet’s personal assistant, who winked at her and pointed at the door. Y/N smiled at him and knocked on the dark wooden doors, opening it silently as she heard people talking inside. Her office was decorated very minimalistic and was usually a very pristine place, but today, there were papers everywhere as Janet, Helen (Janet’s right hand), Dimitri (head of security department) and Raul Mendes stood there apparently discussing the same case.

“Thank God you’re here, darling, please come out this madness to an end” Janet said with a gentle smile as she pointed towards the mess in her table.

Helen chuckled as Dimitri was quick to push their papers to a corner on the table.

“Thank you” Y/N mumbled as she placed her folder down.

Raul silently move to stand right next to her, a careful hand laying on the small of her back in a comforting touch as she looked up at Janet to check if she could start. With a nod from the boss, she started pulling all the evidence she could. All the pictures, the surveillance images, the documents Seth was able to bring back and information he was able to remember as well.

With everything laid out on the table and presented to all of them, Janet ended up telling what she’d been discussing with Helen for the past two days. They both figured the best thing to do at the moment, since they didn’t have enough evidence to make an arrest for this crime and maybe this was a great opportunity to catch another people involved, not only Geonoff. The plan was basically getting new identities and keep a close eye on all of his activities, track down his moves and if possible get even more evidence.

Raul was called because he was the best for this kind of jobs and would be a great leader to the team, Y/N was offered to join the team as well, being his partner and leading the strategic part of the plan. They were also told to pick other agents that they knew would be great for this specific operation, Janet only asking to keep it at a maximum of 5 people including them, the less people knowing, the better.

Of course both agreed and were also instructed to inform Peter so he could separate the gadgets necessary, and obviously intensify their physical training. Despite this being mostly and observant kind of mission, Geonoff was unpredictable and highly dangerous, so being well prepared and extra careful wouldn’t be a bad idea. They were both dismissed for the day and the early shift next morning, so they could rest and plan it as best as they could.

So Y/N was quick to bid her goodbyes as she placed everything neatly back on the folder and moved out of the room. As soon as she pressed the button to call the elevator, she heard the office door opening and closing again, rushed steps moving closer to her. She didn’t even need to look to know Raul was the one approaching her since his scent clouded every room he ever stepped into, she only shook her head and looked up at her right as he stood right beside her. He smirked at her with a little wink.

“My house or yours, doll?” he asked as they climbed into the elevator.

“Tonight?” she eyed him suspiciously as she pressed the button to her floor to grab her stuff and he leaned in to press the one to Peter’s. Y/N glanced at him and noticed he had all of his personal belongings with him.

“Of course, I’ll even order from that Thai place you like”

Y/N giggled shaking her head “of course you will, am I supposed to spend the night?”

“Oh yeah, definitely, I’ll invite Peter too” he said with a smile.

Y/N folded her arms across her chest “I thought we were supposed to rest?”

“Oh but we will, I’ll make sure you’ll fall sleep at reasonable hours, eat properly and all that stuff, of course we’re gonna take a look at work, but just a little” he said with a knowing look.

“Fine, daddy” she added with annoyance, rolling her eyes, Raul just laughed and shook his head.

“You can’t just say stuff like that, sweetheart”

“What? Does it do something for you?” She asked looking up at him and he just shrugged as the doors opened at her floor.

“There’s only one way to find out, doll” he added with a smirk, a teasing tone evident on his voice as he leaned the weight of his body on the elevator doors to hold it for her, shoulders crossed over his broad chest, biceps flexing against the material of his shirt.

Y/N rolled her eyes stepping out of the elevator, ignoring the heat creeping up her face and the stupid flutter on her lower stomach, turning to face him as she said “see you later, Mendes”

“See you, and oh, don’t forget your gym attire, we’re going running at 5:30 sharp tomorrow, bye bye now” he blew her a kiss as he stepped inside and the doors closed before she could add anything.

He was definitely trying to kill her in all the ways possible, she just didn’t know which way would be the fatal blow.

-*-

*Please reblog or like this post if you liked it so I’ll know.

*I’m sorry if there are any spelling mistakes.

*Please do not repost this without giving me the credit, this is a completely original piece and I do not give permission to copy this!

*Hope you guys enjoyed it!

*xoxo

-🌙

@mariamuses

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drarryruinedme7 · 3 years

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Last year I made a post with all my fave Drarry fics from my first year of fandom. Have my second year wrap up! Listed by Rating and then length.

RATING: TEEN AND UP AUDIENCES

Beautiful by @xx-thedarklord-xx (2017; 8.9k)

Summary: With the second task looming closer, Harry escapes to the Black Lake to open the egg, in the hopes of avoiding Myrtle. The Mersong isn't just helpful in figuring out that Mermaids are real, it attracts his very own handsome Merman.

*I didn’t know I love merpeople AUs until I read this one. It was cute and sweet and I’m really glad I read it.

Hermione Granger's Hogwarts Crammer for Delinquents on the Run by @waspabi (2017; 93.3k)

Summary: 'You're a wizard, Harry' is easier to hear from a half-giant when you're eleven, rather than from some kids on a tube platform when you're seventeen and late for work.

*What can I say. This is a masterpiece, it absolutely entered my heart to never leave it again. Best AU ever!!!

Away Childish Things by @letteredlettered (2018; 153.8k)

Summary: Harry gets de-aged. Malfoy has to help him.

* This has been the turning point of my Drarry passion this year. First, I discovered Lettered (good Lord why hadn’t I before?!) and then, well. This fic brought out so many feelings in me and I’ve already re-read it something like 5 or 6 times in the span of a few months. Amazing.

RATING: MATURE

you’ve got the antidote for me by Kandakicksass (2018; 20.7k)

Summary: When Harry Potter unintentionally severs their soulbond before it can fully form, Draco Malfoy resigns himself to a slow death and decides not to burden Harry with a soulmate he's made it very clear he doesn't want.He's never been selfless before, but for Harry, he can try.

* The angst!! It’s usually not my cuppa, but this was bittersweet and just so well written, I couldn’t stop reading. Find the rec for this one at this post.

RATING: EXPLICIT

Give Me Sweet Oblivion by @tryslora (2012; 4k)

Summary: Italy seems like a long way to go to keep a fetish secret. But the club is exclusive, and the far away location, and Muggle nature, promises anonymity from Wizarding Britain. The only problem is that sometimes, great minds think alike.

*Super hot, I love finding old gems like this one. Plus, Italy. Go, folks!

Shiny Things, Slightly Damaged by @lqtraintracks (2020; 5.3k)

Summary: Harry may not ever have had to see it if McGonagall hadn’t decided it was a good idea to hold a ceremony on the grounds outside before the Sorting in the Hall. And by ‘it’ he’s referring to Draco Malfoy on a motorbike.

*jsklajdksajfa This one! THIS ONE! Slayed me. I read it feverishly and then like, fainted at Draco on a motorbike.... this fic surprised me and I 100% loved it.

A Ghost of Blissful Feelings by @alpha-exodus (2020; 6k)

Summary: Harry hadn't expected to spend his eighth year fucking Draco Malfoy, but it's the only thing that helps him let go.

*Dunno guys, I’m amazed by how much this one hit me. You should read the tags before diving in, but it was darkish in the right way, Harry and Draco suffers and find peace in a ‘’special’’ way, but I stand by it. Hot and intense.

Tell Me (What you Need) by @keyflight790 (2019; 6k)

Summary: Even though Harry was paying for his Dom, there were limits; breaking points in which someone would refuse, no matter how many Galleons were pushed in their direction.

*Okay, I may be biased because this is a gift for me, but Chris never lets down with her amazing writing and this has everything I need and more: Dom!Rentboy!Draco and a perfectly sweet Harry with a Daddy!kink. I mean.

Dangerous by Faith Wood (2014; 6.3k)

Summary: Being trapped in a dungeon with Malfoy — who's a werewolf, a former Death Eater, and a giant git — is definitely dangerous. Harry has no reason to be excited. None at all.

*Y’all know Faith Wood is like my n.1 fave Drarry author. I have no idea why I had never read this one though!!! It’s actually phenomenal, scorching hot and just dsjkafjaks love this werewolf!Draco. OMG.

Scent and Sensibility by aidaninkling (2018; 7.5k)

Summary: [...] Draco's always known he'd be married off as a trophy omega, but suddenly his mother's trying to make him king by promising him to some stupidly good-looking alpha and she just won't stop smiling at him. Does fate's cruelty know no end?!

*This blew my mind. A/B/O AU so hot I melted while reading it and I loved it so much that I re-read it three times IN A ROW. No kidding. Read it.

The Eighth Tale by @letteredlettered (2012; 12k)

Summary: Draco Malfoy tries to fix the past, but instead mucks it up some more. For Harry, it all becomes quite clear.

*Back to Lettered. I love Time Travel fics, and this just delivered perfectly. The ending was also enigmatic enough to keep me wandering, which I always appreciate in these kind of stories.

Sex, Lies and Veritaserum by @letteredlettered (2011; 17.9k)

Summary: This entire fic is one long conversation about sex.

*LOL alright, I’ve developed a new obsession this year (clearly). This was ...gosh! Hot but it also gives away a certain level of intimacy and trust between Draco and Harry to be so open about their kinks... it was perfect.

On One’s Knees by pir8fancier (2008; 33.8k)

Summary: The war is over and to the victors go the spoils.

* The fic which made me fall in love with DownAndOut!Draco.

The Pirate and the Prince by @nerdherderette (2019; 49.2k)

Summary: Draco can't believe that fate and circumstance have made him a stowaway on the Master of Death's ship. He doesn't know what's worse: the dread pirate's legendary vendetta against the aristocracy, or the fact that his captor is the most infuriating yet irrefutably fascinating man Draco has ever met.

*Okay y’all. Nerd is a great person and author. She is phenomenal. And this fic shows it so well. The pirate!AU the Drarry fandom both needed and deserved. Sublime.

Unhook the Stars by jad (2016; 70.5k)

Summary: [...] Seventy-thousand words of pornographic discourse between two boys-turned-men that still haven't learned how to communicate like normal people – with words. Guest appearances by Pansy Parkinson, Neville Longbottom, Hermione Granger, Blaise Zabini, Teddy Lupin, Gregory Goyle, the Weird Sisters, ex-wives, several Weasleys, a Boggart, and a Honey Badger.

*Again, Dom!Draco and such a beautiful sub!Harry. They stole my heart. In this fic they grow up together through the aftermath of the war and they just... they have this intense Dom/sub relationship, I can’t... explain how much I loved this. Scorpius also makes his appearance and it’s so real and cute!

Such Great Heights by aideomai (2015; 93.3k)

Summary: Draco Malfoy, wide-eyed and pale and in a decidedly ragged shirt, was crouched next to the pile of whatever the dragon had been eating. Harry threw himself to a halt and yelled, “Merlin, how many times do I have to save your life?”

*This is one of the last ones I’ve read. Find my rec for it here. Such a cool fic, with a shunned Draco who gets to be so happy in the end, it made me happy too.

Burn The Witch by @lettersbyelise (2019; 95.8)

Summary: When Harry Potter is sent in to investigate Draco Malfoy’s successful potions company, posing as Draco’s bodyguard, he doesn’t know the case will launch a series of events that will change his life — and Draco’s. A story about choices, scars, Chopin piano pieces, and finding all kinds of love in the most unexpected places.

*I do not have the words to express what this fic means to me. First of all, it’s how I met Elise who’s an amazing person and who I’m glad to call friend. She’s the sweetest. And also incredibly talented. This fic will take your breath away from the first word to the last one. Smol!Scorpius is perfectly characterised and my absolute favourite bit of the fic.

Who we are in the shadows by @quicksilvermaid (2019; 99.7k)

Summary: What happens when you’re forced to become the very thing you despise? Ex-Auror Harry Potter, tossed out of the Ministry for something he had no control over, has been looking for a way back to his former life. When he comes across Draco Malfoy in the criminal underbelly of Wizarding London and in need of protection, Harry figures bringing him in to face the Ministry's justice is his ticket back to everything he's lost. But nothing is exactly as it seems. Not even Harry himself. And as he gets drawn further and further into Malfoy's world of honour and deception he finds himself questioning everything he thought he knew—about his childhood nemesis, the Ministry job he misses so much, and most of all, about himself. What happens when you’re forced to see that you were wrong?

*Another incredible person who I got to know better thanks to her breathtaking storytelling and her sweetness for sharing it with me. Quick made something amazing with this fic and I urge you to read it. It was my first creature fic ever, first time I read about werewolves and I totally fell in love with it. Sheer perfection.

Freedom to be by @quicksilvermaid (2019; 169.5k)

Summary: Harry Potter is the Boy Who Lived. 12 years after the war, he's become the Boy Who Lived For Everyone Else. He has the perfect wife. The perfect house. The perfect job. The perfect friends. Only nothing feels perfect. Until one day he stumbles across a club called Release and begins a journey of self-discovery that takes him to a very different place.

*Well, could I just miss out on another one of Quick’s great works? With, again, Dom!Draco!??? No, I couldn’t! This is such a great exploration of BDSM and what it means and Harry’s path into it.

19 Years and 5 Minutes Later by TheMightyFlynn (2015; 202.8k)

Summary: Five minutes after his happily-ever-after, Harry finds himself locked in the public loos with an angry Draco Malfoy and a need that he has denied for 19 years.

*Find my rec for this fic here. It’s really long and has Ginny bashing, but it’s totally worth it!!

#drarry #drarry squad #drarry fic rec #drarry rec #draco x harry #draco malfoy #harry potter #drarry fics #drarry fanfictions #my recs #two years of drarry #amazing authors #amazing stories

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dreamsmp-au-ideas · 3 years

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I was going to actually post this before asks closed (didn’t get the chance), but Teddy Bear Anon, you are one of my favorite people and a magnificent creature. You get my vibe.

About Bad canonically being Sapnap’s dad I feel like that has so much extra angst potential when we consider the rest of the found family. Like. Sapnap, Tommy, and Fundy all have dads who started with the best of intentions but for one reason or another ended up slowly becoming a danger to them. I imagine Tommy and Fundy one day showing up with a cake and telling Sapnap “We regretfully welcome you to the shit dad club” and Sapnap is torn between being upset still and laughing over the absurdity of the situation.

Bonus points if Tommy made the cake using a recipe book that Niki gave him, the last gift Niki ever gave to Tommy. Tommy was originally a really bad cook/baker but after the egg really started to take over he went full survivalist. Leaning to cook was necessary but learning to bake was something he did as a way to raise everyone’s spirits. He’s never gotten the flavor quite to match with Niki’s perfectly but everyone agrees he’s gotten pretty decent in terms of skills. He and Fundy in particular will sometimes just spend an entire day in silence baking and then quietly eat their creations while reflecting on the friends they’ve made and lost over the course of L'manberg’s lifetime. When the group got back to the past and Niki made cookies for Tommy and Fundy the pair very nearly started crying.

Tommy is in an interesting position as a character since he did commit a lot of minor crimes and acted as a general nuisance but he was also still a child. (A very traumatized one considering I canonize SMP Earth with its unlimited lives but even more wars. Including against God. Tommy fought God just let me have this.) He acknowledges the moments when he went over the line and has tried to apologize. In particular at some point before the egg fully takes over he pulls aside Jack and tells him that he’s sorry for the way he acted when he was still in exile, taking one of Jack’s lives and all. Jack and Niki in particular are an interesting subject to address and a painful one for immune!Tommy to think about when he sees younger Niki because the three never fully tossed out the hatchet but it was obvious in the eyes of someone like Sam that both of them were growing more and more hesitant to hurt Tommy. It was made worse by the fact neither were even marginally immune, and it didn’t take long for the egg to get to them.

He never stopped being chaotic. Tommy at his core is just that kind of person. He did, however, grow up enough to act in a more mature manner. Started to recognize what’s too much. In particular he became a lot less violent and willing to lash out after Sam Nook in essence reparented him. He’s still an absolute wild card of a person, which in the eyes of Sam and Sapnap is a good thing. For this au I think we should actually address Tommy having severe ptsd and during the building of his hotel/the early days of the egg before it becomes a noticeable threat it shows. He’s a lot more subdued. Shows of aggression all carry a kind of desperation and his typical jokes feel flat. Lashing out at people slowly becomes more of a defense mechanism to see if someone’s going to leave or betray him, to test the limits of how nice they’re willing to be. After all, nice people have only ever been nice to Tommy when they wanted something from him. His eyes, especially after L'manberg is blow sky high, are well and truly gray. The first time Tommy genuinely laughs after filling Sapnap’s room with chickens is considered celebration worthy to them. His pranks take on a more hermitcraft-esque feel to them which honestly makes them more funny.

By the time they get to the past Tommy has recovered, but he still carries the kind of maturity that like Teddy Bear mentioned is reminiscent of age swap Tommy. When he gets especially stressed though, Immune!Tommy will slip into moments where he acts as tired and done with the world as age swap Tommy. With that said, most of the time he just acts like a more mature Tommy. Nothing could ever completely erase his unique vibe which Ranboo has gone on record as describing “Willing to fight God deaf, blind, and backwards just to prove a point."

Immune Fundy and Tommy get on really well once Fundy manages to catch up with the rest of the group. It gets to the point where everyone from the past is kinda shocked since smp Fundy and Tommy do not get along. At all. Literally the first night Fundy’s back someone goes to wake them up and they find Fundy asleep on top of Tommy which is a wild experience since this Tommy is a goliath who often refuses to take off his full Netherite max enchant armor. He really becomes a "looks like he could kill you but is actually a cinnamon roll” kinda mans.

Also, yeah, this is Dream’s retirement arc. He is literally just sitting in the corner watching Tommy dote on his younger self and Tubbo before completely pile driving two of the most powerful people on the server straight into the dirt. At some point Tommy sits down with past Punz. He tells this Punz that their Punz died protecting him and Tubbo and that Tommy never got to properly thank their Punz so he’s going to thank this Punz. Tommy then gives Punz an entire stack of Netherite. If we’re gonna go ahead and agree on Phoenix Tommy then Tommy is fire proof, meaning he probably spent a large amount of time in the nether to avoid the egg crew and get rare supplies. Meaning he also probably did a lot of mining just to distract himself and it resulted in him being loaded. Tommy used to have a fear of tnt and explosives but he seems like the type of mad lad to say “exposure therapy” and make a massive cavern in the underbelly of the nether.

I think it would also be really interesting to dedicate like, a couple of chapters to other people’s perspectives. I kind of want to set the time they arrive in the past partway through the Pogtopia arc since I like mildly unhinged but not completely gone Wilbur. Plus then it also makes more sense for Techno to be there. Just prefer the aesthetic really. I want to have Wilbur see this version of Tommy and come to a sudden “oh” moment. I want to have a moment where Tubbo looks between his Tommy and this new Tommy, seeing himself nowhere to be found, and has enough what the fuck moments to become aggressively protective of his own Tommy. Especially if immune!Tommy ever admits to the past Tubbo why he is the way he is, what he faced under the thumb of the people he trusted. Which, out of everyone on the server, Tubbo would be the first one from the past to actively learn.

I am fully on board with Tommy knowing how to sew. That should just automatically be canon in literally ever AU. Tommy for all intents and purposes is still Phil’s child for me. Survival runs in the family the same way that chaos does, so he’s got a ton of basic survival skills that he just doesn’t show off because it’s still Tommy. He would have been completely fine in exile if it wasn’t for Dream. Whenever someone ruins their clothes in the Immune group they automatically go to Tommy and at first the past versions are very confused (except for past Tommy and Tubbo obviously) and then Tommy’s just “Sapnap this is beyond ruined it can’t be saved, let me make you something new” and within a couple days he makes Sapnap a completely new outfit. Like maybe Sapnap fell into a lava pool because Blaze Sapnap Supremacy and his clothes are beyond saving and everyone is beyond baffled when Tommy just acts like this is a weekly occurrence. He’s memorized Sapnap’s measurements and style tastes and already had a new outfit in the works for him that Sapnap immediately adores upon it being presented to him. It takes about a week for past Eret to learn that Tommy stress sews new clothing and he cannot think of a better model. Eret has never had such a full closet. Eret has everything from three piece suits to ball gowns now. Eret lives in terror of the days where Tommy disappears god knows where with Fundy and the two reappear with a new wardrobe for the entire god damn server.

Speaking of disappearing I really like the idea of part phoenix and part tanuki Tommy for a couple reasons. Being a Tanuki he’d have access to enough magic to hide his hybrid traits, which if they’ve been present for long enough would be a necessity to him. Additionally think about Fundy and Tommy building a den under Church Prime that slowly turns into a maze. Think about it. It starts off simple and then they both start digging more and it gets deeper and deeper and more complicate and the two just refer to it as their den and the only ones who are fully aware of the connotations of that word are Sam, Sapnap, and Ranboo who remember the absolute hell that was trying to navigate the original. Just Fundy and Tommy bonding over the fact they are literally the only creatures on this server that have this catacomb memorized and at the end of the catacomb is their saferoom which connects to rail way that the two spent a month straight on. It goes at least 25k blocks from spawn and it’s a final emergency resort in case they can’t stop the egg and the Immunes needs to regroup and essentially try again (if they keep bringing their younger selves with them then hopefully they’ll finally get an army large enough to stop this, but everyone really hopes it doesn’t come to that.)

I’m working on the first chapter of my fic right now actually if I’m gonna be honest and phoenix Tommy is absolutely without question canon to it but I’ve still been going back and forth on if I want him to be part tanuki as well or just blessed/favored by one like Teddy Bear mentioned. I’m also tucking away the whole thing about the magma blood for later use. Phoenix Tommy just makes sense. They used to call him Zombie Kid for a reason back on SMP Earth, he just literally does not die ever unless he decides he does.

~Snapdragon & Firefly

#dream smp #dream smp au #immune au #tommyinnit #fundy #sapnap #eret #the eret #awesamdude #dream #dreamwastaken #wilbur soot #submission #snapdragon & firefly #long post

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psalloacappella · 3 years

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SSM21 Day 2. Festival

Pairing: SasuSaku Prompt: Festival Title: sparks will fly, they ignite our bones Tags: AU - Modern Setting; First Dates; Wooing Lips burning against his, mouthing soft words in the detonation din.

(In which Sakura has the better aim.)

Ao3 | twt | full series link | @ssskmonth

“It’sa real date this time.” Each word’s punctuated by Naruto’s fist punching his opposite palm, driving home the importance of this. This being: Street stall smells rich and piquant, a smoky-savory blend; lights flickering in kaleidoscopic, neurotic brilliance; children wild as free foals escaping their parents, weaving in and out of adults’ legs clutching cheap prizes and sparklers —

and him, Sasuke, on an actual fucking date with a woman with cotton-candy-colored locks who has been besting him every game and measure of skill imaginable, and his dumb plus-one buffer, the best friend, now droning on about how he needs to win her something.

“Anything!” Naruto throws his arms up, dramatic and exasperated, the only gearsetting he seems to have. “Teddy bear, ugly fish, keychain — literally any shitty prize to show her yer not a complete waste of time.”

“Sasuke!” Both men snap to, pretending to have been watching the whole time as Sakura jumps up and down, pumping a fist in the air. “I won again!”

With shiny, wide eyes, she places both her palms out in giddy anticipation to receive a stuffed bear donning a baseball cap of the local (terrible) team from a surly booth operator with a permanent frown.

“She’s comin’ this way!”

“I can see that,” Sasuke hisses. “You useless idiot.”

“Did I hear ‘charming wingman?’ ‘Kay, I’m gonna find some food. Give you two some time—”

“Don’t say it—”

“Alone.” Some strange tone aiming for sensual manifests as choking pigeon, and Naruto skips away as Sakura bounds up to Sasuke, smiling so wide he can see every perfect tooth.

“Did you see?” So proud of herself, arms laden with prizes. Some she’s already given away to cute children passing by, perhaps the sole supplier of noisemakers and soft bears. For a doctor in pediatrics, the urge to make smiles comes second nature. “Where’s he going?”

“Food, or something,” Sasuke murmurs, trying not to look as constipated and irritated as he had ten minutes prior — another gem from Naruto’s unasked-for criticism. “He’s left us alone.”

“Finally.” Definitely slipped out by accident, and Sakura grumbles over her mistake, red prickling her cheeks and chest. “Not that I dislike him, of course—”

“I do,” Sasuke says, absolutely deadpan. It takes her a moment.

“Uchiha Sasuke, did you just make your first joke?”

Ears burning in the cool night air, it’s his turn to smother his embarrassment. In lieu of further slip ups, he awkwardly gathers the items in her arms, a mishmash of unidentified thingamajigs and whatnots that you only find in curio shops or carnivals, and gallantly takes on their burden.

“Walk with me?”

So sure his voicebox just sustained a hairline crack; he hates himself for being nervous.

Eyes, hers, brighter than all the psychedelic frenzy swirling around them both, caught up in the haze; she has the uncanny ability to fade the rest to black, toss the entirety of the world’s existence aside.

Seeking to link her arm with his amid the mess of wares won, she succeeds and presses closer.

“I thought I’d die waiting,” she whispers into his sleeve. “I’ve been wanting you to notice me properly all night.”

Meandering, conjoined, down the main road; carved out for the celebration, buffeted by snack scents and other couples, groups of friends, and plenty of pairs pretending they’re still just and only that. Along the way she unloads her many winnings, surreptitious, in part kindly trying to relieve his burden but also calculating the space in her single occupancy apartment.

She watches people and lights, and he watches her.

Sakura’s gaze snags on a particular booth, more specifically a particular prize. Of the stuffed variety.

“Did . . . something catch your eye?” he asks. Immediately thinks he sounds like an idiot. You know how to woo ‘em, and why does his inner voice sound like Naruto’s on this date, goddamn it —

Burying her cheek into his shoulder, she giggles and it threads beautiful, stringed tension in his throat and spine, symphonic, testing its own flex to see if she can orchestrate the rest of him. He wishes he could spin her around, lift her high in some filmesque climax, kiss her in the closing credits.

“Don’t laugh,” she says, “but I love slugs. Adore them, really. Gross, I know!” She raises her free hand and points directly at a giant stuffed slug on a high shelf behind the booth’s counter. “And honestly, I’d likely keep it in my office; the kids would love it.”

Sasuke knows, from what she’s disclosed, that these are sick kids, too. This ancient, gendered mating ritual is unavoidable and he’ll have to rise to the challenge. He must provide. Stupid, because she outstrips his earnings and likely will the rest of their life.

Says it like a throwaway, like no big deal: “I’ll have to win it for you, then.”

The game? Aim. Darts. Doable if he’s sober and with equally (un)talented friends; ranging from Shino the sharpshooter to drunk and stumbling Suigetsu, he’s decidedly somewhere in the middle, but it should be enough raw talent to beat a festival game.

Sakura’s eyes are on him, excited. She dances a little from foot to foot, ready to cheer him on.

Dropping the rest of the prizes on the ground and shoving a fistful of coins at the booth operator, he smirks. Born ready, all those forced childhood sports camps and instrument lessons finessing his hand-eye coordination finally stepping up to the plate.

Imagine failing miserably three rounds in a row, the last one bouncing off the dartboard so violently it narrowly misses the sleepy booth operator. Sasuke grinds his teeth, jaw tight, wishing it’d met its mark.

To Sakura’s credit, she’s completely unperturbed. Almost makes it worse.

She pecks him on the cheek, scoring him through hot and fevered where her lips touch.

“Performance anxiety,” she quips, but her smile isn’t unkind. “Let me give it a try.”

Each dart that lands in the board does so with gusto, embeds itself deep into the sisal cork. As each one hits, Sasuke reflects they might as well be piercing him. The most painful blow is watching her indicate the bluebacked slug, winning it outright without his help, and squeezing it half to death in her arms.

They’re walking again, sans the rest of her prizes — left them for the booth operator, and whatever kids wander his way wanting toys with which to annoy their parents.

“You’ve been so quiet,” she says, shifting her slug under one arm and linking up with him again. Sasuke shrugs against her. “I’m not sure what’s next with us.”

He stops, figures it’s better to rip that bandaid off now, give her an out so he can save some face. Of course they’ve stopped on some coquettishly romantic bridge, arched over the still summer pond, a popular viewing spot for the night’s end fireworks.

She watches him expectantly, searching him with her sharp green eyes.

“What do you mean?” Her question is slow, puzzled.

What he means to say is something gentile. Instead he says, “You’re great at darts.”

She seems to sway, a physical manifestation of being caught off guard. Laughs. “Surprised me too! But you gave my arms a rest, so they were ready to win.” Curls her arm to indicate muscle, grinning.

Steps closer, melting through an unseen veil of personal space. Cherry scent; smoke.

“Could be all the shots you administer.”

“I guess we can call jabbing kids with needles a calling.” Mirroring him, she steps in too, and there’s not so much space between them anymore. “Good practice. You could come around sometime, see my work.”

Another tiny shuffle.

It’s time to break this. Sasuke inhales deeply, letting it out in measured beats. “Sakura—”

“If you’re mad you couldn’t win this for me,” she interrupts, “you’re being silly. I don’t care about that, you know.”

He tilts his head, and in spite of himself his hand wanders, brushing a stray strand of pink out of her face. “Hm?”

“I don’t,” she repeats, and sets her slug down on the wooden bridge. Breathes deeply before saying in a low, threaded voice, “What I care about is all the waiting.”

Sasuke feels it all fall into place. Oh. Oh.

“So come on, Sasuke.”

And before she’s even finished saying his name he’s kissing her, the last vibrations of his name caught on their lips, locked, and though the timing is perfect and picturesque, film archetype material as the fireworks charge the air around them, each one set off drawing ripple designs in the water beneath them, this thrill is unmatched, the way she wraps her arm around his neck to taste him deeper, the way he lifts her up to rest him on his hips and there’s nothing, has never been anything, quite like this.

Real fireworks pale in comparison.

Lips burning against his, mouthing soft words in the detonation din.

“The perfect end,” she whispers, “to a festival.”

#SSM21 #sasusaku #psalloacappella:SSM21

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